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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 5) – Senator Christopher “Bong” Go urges the vaccine czar, Carlito Gálvez, Jr., and the secretary of health, Francisco Duque III, to take the first injections once the coronavirus vaccines are available in the country .
In an online press conference on Saturday, Go cited the public’s apprehension about getting vaccinated due to safety concerns. A Social Weather Stations poll in November showed that only 66% of Filipinos are willing to get vaccinated.
“I am challenging Sec. Gálvez, once available that the vaccine is safe, will show, together with Sec. Duque, they will be the first to inject the vaccine once it is safe to encourage, ”Go said.
[Translation: I’m challenging Sec. Galvez, once a safe vaccine becomes available, he along with Sec. Duque, should be the first to be injected the vaccine to encourage the people.]The Philippines is willing to spend more than $ 73 billion to vaccinate 60 million Filipinos, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said at the same briefing. Most of it is expected to come from loans from multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the rest from national and bilateral sources, he said.
READ: CFO names 3 sources for government launch of COVID-19 vaccines
So far, the country has obtained 2.6 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine thanks to the help of donations from the private sector.
The government is giving priority to frontline doctors, government agency workers, poor families and vulnerable sectors. Gálvez previously said that once these groups have been vaccinated, the vaccination program will change to protect thousands of police and military, as President Rodrigo Duterte repeatedly said in recent public pronouncements.
He added that the camps of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines can be used as vaccination centers where the public can receive their doses.
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