‘Mas mabilis na pagbabakuna’: VP Leni reiterates the need to vaccinate more Pinoys as OVP collaborates with more LGUs for Vaccine Express

Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday reiterated the need to intensify efforts to vaccinate more Filipinos, as her office continues to help local governments distribute their vaccine supply more efficiently.

VP Leni underscored this anew at the launch of IrigaVax Express, her office’s collaboration with the City Government of Iriga. An offshoot of the OVP’s Vaccine Express initiative, it aims first to cover 5,000 senior citizens (A2 category), who may get vaccinated in one of the three cluster sites, whichever is closest to their barangay.

This is part of the OVP’s continuous efforts to provide logistics support for local government units, to help in the faster and more efficient distribution of vaccines among their residents.

“Lalo na dahil may Delta variant, dapat bilisan talaga natin ‘yong deployment. Kasi while ‘yong vaccines hindi naman assurance na hindi ka na mai-infect ng virus, at least nape-prevent niya ‘yong severity, saka nape-prevent niya ‘yong hospitalization,” she said. “Mas mabilis na deployment [ng bakuna], better for us.”

IrigaVax is also made possible by the following partners—Rotary Club of Iriga, Kabalikat CiviCom, Angena Trading, Red Cross – Iriga, Camarines Sur Medical Society, Philippine Academy of Family Physicians – Iriga, Philippine Nurses Association – Iriga, Our Lady of Mediatrix Hospital, and Millennials PH – Iriga—and medical volunteers.

The OVP earlier brought Vaccine Express to Manila, working with the City Government, led by Mayor Isko Moreno, to help the LGU administer two doses of vaccine for 2,979 individuals, most of the delivery riders, and tricycle and pedicab drivers.

VP Leni’s office also assisted the Naga City Government, through NagaVax Express, in distributing 6,715 shots of the single-dose Johnson&Johnson vaccine to residents under the priority categories.

The OVP will next bring the initiative to Quezon City, also in partnership with the local government.

Earlier this week, VP Leni said 750,000 individuals must be vaccinated every day, to speed up the country’s bid for herd immunity. ###