With the expected delivery of more Covid-19 vaccines to the country this year, the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (Nitag) has proposed to the utilization of Churches as vaccination sites.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the Nitag has noted that churches are ideal for the administration of the vaccines owing good ventilation in church premises.
Vergeire also said that the government is also looking into the possibility of converting big parking spaces into mega vaccination sites.
“Ang mga parking areas na malalaki, gagawin ding (the larking big areas, we will also convert them into) mega vaccination sites,” the DOH official said.
Vergeire said that they have already discussed the matter with the private sector who has earlier expressed willingness to help the government provide mega vaccination sites or hubs like malls and hospitals.
In January, the DOH has welcomed the announcement of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to transform church facilities in the country as Covid-19 vaccination sites.
CBCP President and Davao City Archbishop Romulo Valles said that the church’s role is to serve God and His people.
“We can offer our church facilities to help in this massive and complicated and very challenging program of vaccination,” Valles then said.
The DOH has been reaching out to several medical and allied health professionals, local government units and other sectors to help in the vaccine rollout and in boosting vaccine confidence.
Valles, on the other hand, said that if necessary, they are also willing to be vaccinated in public if such an act will help build confidence in the government’s vaccination campaign.
The move of the CBCP to transform church facilities into vaccination sites, the DOH said, will surely expedite delivery of vaccines to the people.
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