FILE PHOTO: A health worker prepares a dose of the BioNTech Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination for seafarers at a stadium in Manila on July 15, 2021. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Resbakuna sa Botika, the program which rolls out COVID-19 vaccination in pharmacies and clinics, will soon be expanded to three more cities outside of Metro Manila.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Monday said that the government is expected to launch the program in the cities of Bacolod, Cebu, and Iloilo in the coming days.
Last week, the vaccination program commenced in Baguio City, which is the first outside the nation’s capital region.
“Inilunsad last week ang Resbakuna sa Botika sa Baguio City. Ang Baguio City ang kauna-unahang LGU (local government unit) sa labas ng National Capital Region na nag-roll out ng Resbakuna sa Botika program,” said Nograles, who is also co-chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, during the Palace press briefing.
(Last week, Resbakuna sa Botika was launched in Baguio City. Baguio City is the first LGU outside the National Capital Region to roll out the Resbakuna sa Botika program.)
READ: Vaccinations at pharmacies to be expanded to Baguio City
“Inaasahan natin na ang programang ito ay ilulunsad na rin sa piling botika at clinic ngayong linggo sa Bacolod City, Cebu City, at Iloilo City,” the acting presidential spokesperson also said.
(We expect that this program will also be launched in select pharmacies and clinics this week in Bacolod City, Cebu City, and Iloilo City.)
The Resbakuna sa Botika was piloted in seven pharmacies and clinics in Metro Manila to ramp up immunizations amid the shortage in health workers due to the surge in COVID-19 infections.
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The latest data from the Department of Health have shown that around 58.7 million people in the country were already fully vaccinated against COVID-19.