Duque injects CoronaVac into Dagupan health workers at vaccination rollout

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III injects Dr. Butch Ydia with CoronaVac in Dagupan City. With them is Mayor Brian Lim. WILLIE LOMIBAO

DAGUPAN CITY–Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Friday (March 12) joined the ceremonial injection of vaccines for SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, at the Region I Medical Center here where he injected doses to some hospital workers.

Duque also visited the Dagupan Astrodome, the country’s first non-hospital setting for mass vaccination, and lauded the local government for the arrangement.

“This is the first one. So I commend city Mayor Brian Lim for his innovation. This is really proof that the leadership of the city does not like the status quo. He wants to find ways to improve performance,” Duque told reporters here.

The Dagupan Astrodome is being used by the city government for vaccination of medical professionals of private hospitals and health facilities in the city, using doses of the CoronaVac vaccine that were given by the Department of Health.

CoronaVac is produced by pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech Ltd. in China.

Duque said the use of facilities, like the City Astrodome, which can accommodate around 400 residents a day for vaccination, must be replicated elsewhere in the country to have as many people injected with vaccines in as little time as possible.

“Now that I have been a witness to this best practice, I will go around and tell them you should do what Dagupan is doing that the health care workers, and later on, the senior citizens, they will benefit from very quick vaccination with little or no hassle,” said Duque, who is from this city.

TSB