RTF holds ceremonial vaccination of gov’t employees under A4
By Doreen Marielle Rosales
BUTUAN CITY -- In an effort to promote the vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Caraga Regional Task Force on COVID-19 (RTF COVID-19) conducted a ceremonial vaccination for employees of government agencies who are part of the A4 priority group on Friday, July 23, at SM City Butuan.
These agencies are members of the task force that provide essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We launched it as a way of promoting the COVID-19 vaccines, that these are safe and that getting vaccinated is the best way to combat COVID-19. We don’t know when this pandemic will end but we are sure that the vaccination is a tool to prevent and to decrease the transmission of this deadly virus,” said RTF COVID-19 Chairperson and Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Caraga Regional Director Liza Mazo.
Mazo
Dir. Mazo and the remaining 20 employees from various government agencies such as the OCD, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), National Housing Authority (NHA), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and DOST – Pagasa, Department of Agriculture (DA), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) who participated in the ceremony received Russia’s flagship two-dose COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V.
In addition to the existing Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate (PDITR) strategies to curb the transmission, the task force chair, being a strong advocate for vaccination, stressed the importance of availing COVID-19 vaccines especially for the said frontline workers given the nature of their jobs involving face-to-face contact with their clientele.
“This added layer of protection can also help your body fight the virus better once you get infected. This is our best weapon against this disease. Also, getting vaccinated is our way of convincing the people to get inoculated, especially if you are under the priority groups that are currently receiving the jabs,” Mazo said.
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OWWA Caraga OIC-Regional Director Ma. Ireen Cambaling, who also received her jab during the ceremony, was one of the few office heads who sought the national government’s intervention to begin the vaccination for its office employees who continue to serve inbound overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). This puts her staff at great risk.
“We’re at the frontlines, relentlessly serving our OFWs so it is crucial for our employees to get vaccinated. Our willingness to receive the jab is also necessary for us to achieve herd immunity which is why we have to take the lead to have our sector vaccinated,” Dir. Cambaling said.
While vaccination is still ongoing for the A1 to A3 priority groups, the OWWA regional director said some local government units are preparing for the vaccination of outbound OFWs, who are now part of A1. Through a conversation with Dir. Cambaling, the LGU Nasipit in the province of Agusan del Norte confirmed that they are now preparing for the vaccination of their OFWs.
Meanwhile, varying efficacy rates of various vaccines from various manufacturers have been pinpointed as a factor for vaccine hesitancy. Dir. Mazo quickly cited findings and recommendations from medical experts, reiterating that the vaccines now made available are all safe regardless of their efficacy rate.
“Science has shown that lahat itong mga vaccines are safe and effective enough to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. All vaccines made available in the country are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization so please, let us not give in to hearsays. This makes us even more anxious and fearful of the vaccine but in response to all of these, numerous studies have been published showing proof,” she added. (DMNR/PIA-Caraga)
