Manila looks for volunteers as LGU gears to operate vaccine facilities 24/7

(FILE PHOTO) Manila Mayor Isko Moreno speaking during his third state of the city address. Courtesy of Manila PIO

MANILA, Philippines — The local government of Manila is looking for volunteers that can assist the LGU when its vaccination facilities start to operate 24/7.

According to a post from Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s Facebook page, the city government is looking for medical staffers and computer-literate volunteers who may extend their help for free once the city opens its 24/7 vaccination site.

“Isang panawagan po mula sa Pamahalaang Lungsod.  Nangangailangan po tayo ng mga magboboluntaryo para sa 24/7 na bakunahan sa Maynila,” Moreno said.

(This is a call from the local government: we need volunteers who can work for the 24/7 vaccination facility in Manila.)

“Kung sinumang lisensiyadong puwedeng magbakuna, idu-duty ko kayo sa gabi to replenish our workforce, our medical frontliners during daytime,” he added.

(Whoever is licensed to make vaccinations, you would be placed on duty by night to replenish the workforce, our medical frontliners during daytime.)

Among the volunteers that the city needs are the following:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Dentists
• Midwife
• Medical technologist
• Pharmacists
• Allied health professionals
• College graduates/ college students who are computer-literate

Interested volunteers can contact Manila’s local government unit through 09951069524 and 09606040771.

Setting up 24/7 vaccination facilities are seen to aid the government’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with the threat of the more transmissible Delta variant requiring the reimposition of an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) status over Metro Manila.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in an interview with CNN Philippines earlier that the government is also looking at that measure to ensure that more individuals get inoculated against the disease while Metro Manila is under ECQ from August 6 to 20.

According to Año, there are four million vaccine doses committed to Metro Manila.

READ: Año: Gov’t mulling 24/7 vaccinations to counter COVID-19 Delta variant 

Año gave the idea as he was answering questions on whether the government has any other plans aside from imposing lockdowns, especially since Metro Manila and nearby areas would be under its third ECQ status ever since the Luzon-wide lockdown from March 2020 to May 2020.

READ: Metro Manila under ECQ from August 6 to 20 

It is not yet clear whether the Delta variant, said to be 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant, is already spreading undetected in Metro Manila.  But earlier, analytics group OCTA Research fears that the Delta variant is already spreading in the National Capital Region, days before the ECQ takes effect.

READ: PH must strictly screen people coming from abroad to block COVID-19 Delta variant – expert 

On Monday, the Philippines recorded the fourth consecutive day that daily new infections went above 8,000, pushing the active case count to 62,615.

READ: PH logs 8,167 new COVID-19 cases; active infections now at 62,615 

JPV