Mega vaccine site opens in La Union

Officials in La Union province open a mega vaccination site at the Saint Louis College gymnasium in San Fernando City. It can serve up to 1,000 people daily. (Contributed photo)

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – A mega vaccination site at the Saint Louis College gymnasium here was opened on Tuesday to expedite the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the province.

“This is another breakthrough in the province and a big step to speed up the vaccination of the priority groups,” Gov. Francisco Emmanuel Ortega III said in an online briefing.

Two more mega vaccination sites—one at the La Union Medical Center and another at the Bacnotan District Hospital—will be opened in the province.

“These three sites aim to consume the soonest possible time all the three trays of Pfizer vaccines, with about 1,170 shots each, that were provided to the province so we can hopefully receive more allocations given our readiness to accept them since we procured ultra-low temperature freezers early on,” Ortega said.

The mega vaccination site was established because many residents are ready to be vaccinated, but the rural health units (RHUs) are limited, he said.

“Also, some vaccines require sub-zero temperature equipment, and bringing them to RHUs may not be feasible,” he said.

The provincial government has bought ultra-low freezers in anticipation of vaccines that needed the low temperature.

La Union has 820,000 population and around 60,000 have been given the anti-COVID-19 shots so far.

Most RHUs could vaccinate 80-100 residents on a daily average, and only a handful could vaccinate 300, said Dr. Dan William Dacanay of the provincial health office.

The mega vaccination site targets to accommodate 500-1,000 people daily or until all the available shots have been administered.

abc