Senator Christopher “Bong” Go revealed Wednesday that the national government is targeting to start the rollout of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines before the end of the first quarter of 2021.
“Sa ngayon po ay ini-expect ng ating national government na, hopefully, bago matapos ang first quarter, makapag-umpisa na tayo makapagturok. Sinisiguro lang natin na safe ang vaccine na bibilhin,” Go said during an ambush interview right after he personally led the distribution of assistance to hundreds of fire victims and tricycle drivers in Obando, Bulacan.
As chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, Go said that he would see to it that the poor and vulnerable sectors would be prioritized for the vaccine.
However, he continued to urge the government to ramp up its information dissemination campaign to build vaccine confidence among Filipinos.
“Ang info campaign, paigtingin pa, at dapat maintindihan po ng bawat Pilipino kung ano bang benepisyo nitong vaccine na ito dahil marami pa pong kababayan natin ang takot at ang attitude, nagtuturuan, kayo muna mauna dahil takot pa sila,” he said, urging vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. to ensure the safety, efficacy and adequacy of supply of the vaccines.
Go also urged concerned agencies to ensure the systematic distribution of the vaccines.
“Ang distribution ng vaccine, dapat aabot po sa pinakasulok ng Pilipinas. Tayo sa Metro Manila, mauuna tayo dahil nandito ang storage. Pero paano po ang mga kababayan natin sa pinakasulok ng Pilipinas? Paano aabot sa kanila ang vaccine?” he asked. (Mario Casayuran)
