Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) on Monday said it is targeting to inoculate over 35,000 of its employees and its extended work force in five weeks as the company fast-tracks its vaccination program.
SMC President Ramon S. Ang said the company had already delivered an initial 26,700 doses to various provinces where it operates. Vaccination of more Metro Manila-based employees commenced at the San Miguel Sports Complex in Pasig last July 27.
The conglomerate has also accelerated its vaccination campaign in Isabela, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Laguna, Bataan, Cavite, Batangas, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao and Cagayan de Oro until August 27.
“We are in a race against time to have all of our 70,000 employees fully-vaccinated and I firmly believe that we are on track to achieve micro herd immunity in our offices and facilities nationwide in a few months. Our goal is to work quickly, efficiently and safely to have everyone completely vaccinated and protected against Covid-19, and the emerging Delta variant, which is more transmissible according to our health experts,” Ang said.
Ang said some 35,855 employees have signed up for their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, which it procured under its P1-billion vaccine program. Majority of the workers will get their jabs at the San Miguel Sports Complex in Pasig City and the province of Cavite.
At the moment, it has 12 vaccine sites that are simultaneously operating in Laguna, Cavite, Batangas (Mabini and Lipa), Pampanga, Pangasinan, Isabela, Bataan, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro.
Ang said the company has more than enough vaccines to vaccinate its work force as it recently received 150,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine good for 75,000 direct and indirect workers.
The conglomerate is expecting another batch of 150,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to arrive next year under the tripartite agreement that the private sector signed with the government and the British-Swedish drug maker last November 2020.
It expects to administer the second doses of AstraZeneca vaccine for its employees starting in the middle of September. Under the Department of Health guidance, the standard interval for AstraZeneca doses is four weeks to 12 weeks apart.
“We are striking a balance between getting as many employees fully vaccinated as soon as possible while not affecting the maximum protection that the vaccine will provide. We will continue to seek guidance from the experts on the best interval or the middle ground, given the new strain of the virus,”Ang said.
To assist in the national vaccination effort, particularly in the National Capital Region, the company has employed over a hundred doctors and nurses. They are currently deployed at various local government sites in Mandaluyong, Manila, Malabon, Parañaque and Quezon City and have helped administer some 444,673 doses of Covid-19 vaccines as of July 26.
Image courtesy of Contributed Photo