GOVERNMENT ASSURES EQUITABLE ACCESS TO COVID VACCINE SECRETARY ANDANAR Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Friday said the national government is committed to providing equitable access and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine for the vulnerable sectors. During the Pagdu-aw sa Dumaguete: Explain Explain, Explain Town Hall Meeting, Secretary Andanar underscored that the year 2021 will be a notable year, saying that the Filipino people will witness one of the biggest roll-out of vaccines in the country. “As we move forward this 2021, the government is set to roll out the National COVID-19 vaccination program by the 3rd or 4th week of February,” he said, as he bared that high-risk metropolitan areas of the National Capital Region (NCR), Cebu, and Davao will be the
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| January 16-22, 2021
pilot area for the vaccine inoculation. He assured that priority will be given to frontline healthcare workers, senior citizens, and the indigents. He clarified that the government has a “menu of vaccines” under negotiations to be able to meet the targeted 70 million Filipinos to be immunized. With this, two million Filipinos are expected to be vaccinated already by April 2021. “The government does not have any policy which favors a specific vaccine brand or country from which it originates. With our current negotiations, we have ensured that we will receive at least 137 million doses and this may expand to 172 million doses by next year,” he said. Together with key agencies, Office of the Presidential Assistant for Caraga INFOCUS
