Pateros COVID-19 vaccination center near empty as queues form in QC, Manila

A COVID-19 vaccination center setup for essential workers at a Pateros resort resembled a ghost town even as long lines formed at vaccination centers in Quezon City and Manila.

According to Jun Veneracion’s Friday report on “24 Oras,” though the Pateros vaccinators were ready, no one was entering the vaccination site at the time the GMA News team was there.

The vaccinators also expressed confusion over the incident, saying that people flocked to the resort during the previous days.

Meanwhile, long lines of people lined up for vaccinations at a mall in Manila.

The local government of Manila resumed its vaccination on Friday after it temporarily stopped due to a lack of supply.

“Salamat lang natapos na, natapos na ang pagtiis ng pila,” Remigo Tepan, a vaccinee who waited for 6 hours, said.

(I’m glad it’s over, the waiting in line is over.)

Manila implements a "first come, first served" system.

A total of 2,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine were allocated for the first dose of vaccinees under the A2 and A4 categories in the vaccination site.

“Syempre po para akong nanalo sa jackpot. Masaya po kaming lahat dahil umabot po ako,” Josephin Ng, the vaccinee who will receive the 2000th dose, said.

(I feel like I won the jackpot. We’re all happy because I will be vaccinated.)

Manila LIGA Director Jerome Chua, however, said he requested an additional 500 doses, bringing the total number of vaccinees to 2,500 for the day.

Meanwhile, the EZConsult of the Quezon City Government crashed due to the high number of people under the A4 category seeking to register.

QC Task Force on COVID-19 head Joseph Juico said the vaccine supply in Quezon City will only last for two to three days.

“Because of the volume of interest of people wanting to be vaccinated, the system was overwhelmed and it crashed. Of course, that also caused stress coming from the local government because we tried to roll it out as fast as possible,” he said. — Joahna Lei Casilao/DVM, GMA News