Marikina raises indemnity fund for vaccine side effects to at least P10M

Marikina City Marcy Teodoro and Vince Dizon, Deputy Chief Implementer, National Action Plan Against Covid-19, and other government officials led the vaccination simulation at the Mega Vaccination Facility located at Marikina Sports Center, February 3, 2021. 📷:Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The Marikina City government has earmarked at least P10 million as indemnity fund for residents who may suffer adverse reactions to Covid-19 vaccines, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said Monday.

The city government initially allocated a budget of only P5 million, but Teodoro said the city council augmented the amount with additional funding.

“Initially we put up around P5 million for the purpose but recently our city council has supplemented it I think as we speak now, it was increased up to P10 million to P15 million. We are not putting a cap on individual assistance that will be provided. It will be really contingent or dependent on the medication or the treatment that one will be needing,” he said over ABS-CBN News Channel.

But Teodoro explained that the funds will be provided in the form of medical assistance and not in cash.

“It will be in the form of medical treatment for the person, [through the] medicines, physicians attending to them that we will be using. It will not be like a social amelioration that we have that we will provide cold cash to individuals,” he said.

Teodoro earlier said the city would be able to vaccinate around 10,000 residents daily through its mega-vaccine facility located at the Marikina Sports Complex in Barangay Santa Elena.

The mayor earlier said that the city government approved last November an P82.7-million budget allocation for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.

EDV