More than 1,600 Taguig health workers already inoculated vs. COVID-19

More than 1,600 medical frontline workers in Taguig City have already been vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) since the national government began its immunization program this March, the city government said.

“As of March 15, 2021, the City has vaccinated a total of 1,694 of its medical frontliners with the supply from the national government in its ongoing vaccination rollout at the Taguig Vaccination Hub in Lakeshore Megaquarantine Complex located in Barangay Lower Bicutan,” read the statement from Taguig Public Information Office (PIO) issued on Tuesday.

Hospitals in Taguig and Marikina started vaccinating its workers last March 2

Meanwhile, Taguig government will also prepare a portfolio of vaccines which would “complement national government vaccine supply” and make sure that its residents will receive free inoculation against the respiratory disease.

Creating a portfolio of the anti-COVID-19 drug with different vaccine types will create options that would combat different COVID-19 variants, the local government said.

To date, the city government said it is expecting vaccine supplies from three different firms and already signed the following vaccine agreements:

• Memorandum of understanding with Novavax for Covovax, which is a protein based vaccine that uses recombinant technology;

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• Term sheet with IP BioTech for Covaxin, which is an inactivated vaccine; and
• Memorandum of agreement with AstraZeneca, whose vaccine is an adenovirus-based viral vector vaccine.

The Taguig government also said it is already coordinating with Moderna and other possible suppliers of mRNA vaccines to provide other types of vaccines for its constituents.

In the same statement, Mayor Lino Cayetano said he believes that the current available vaccine is the best vaccine for the public even as they are still waiting for more vaccine supplies.

"While we continue to build our portfolio of vaccines and wait for the supplies to arrive, we believe that the best vaccine to administer to our citizens is the vaccine that is available now," Cayetano said.

As of Tuesday, the city has logged 12,881 total confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 12,486 recoveries, 185 fatalities, and 210 active cases.

Also, Taguig remains the lowest number of active cases in the metropolis with 21 active cases per 100,000 population, compared to Metro Manila’s average of 86 active cases per 100,000 population. — Consuelo Marquez/BM, GMA News