Tacloban mayor willing to be ‘guinea pig’ to prove COVID-19 vaccine safe

ACLOBAN CITY –– The mayor of this city is willing to be a “guinea pig” to prove that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines won’t pose any risk to their health.

Mayor Alfred Romualdez, who has just recovered from the dreaded virus, said the city government is ready to allocate funds as high as P400 million so Taclobanons would accept the vaccines.

“Funding will not be a problem. We will find ways to allocate funds even if it will be P300 million or P400 million (and) I am willing to be a food taster, a guinea pig (once it is available in the city),” Romualdez said.

“I will do it to encourage our people to be vaccinated,” he added.

Romualdez said he had yet to decide what brand of vaccines the city government would procure.

He, however, stressed that his primary considerations in choosing the vaccines are price and efficacy.

Tacloban has 1,558 COVID-19 cases, of which 160 are active. Twenty-five died.

Dr. Gloria Fabrigas, city health officer, said they were initially targeting for inoculation around 89,000 persons, who represent about 40 percent of the city’s population.

The city government needs more than 200 vaccinators to be deployed to different vaccination areas, mostly hospitals.

These vaccinators could give the vaccines to 75-100 people per day.