DND chief taps AFP hospitals to assist LGUs in vax rollout

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 29, 2021): DND chief taps AFP hospitals to assist LGUs in vax rollout

PNA photo by Jess Escaros Jr

Military hospitals nationwide are ordered to assist local government units (LGUs) in the vaccination rollout as more vaccines arrive, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

"In anticipation of the arrival of a huge volume of vaccines, I have alerted the military hospitals all over the country, ito po ‘yong mga ospital ng mga (these are the hospitals of) Philippine Army all over the country, to assist the LGUs in the vaccination program," Lorenzana told President Rodrigo Duterte Monday night during his weekly Talk to the People.

Along with medical front-liners, the military has been at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, providing support to the government's coronavirus response.

Through its assets, the military helps in the transport of medical equipment and supplies as well as food packs, especially to far-flung areas. Its doctors, nurses and health personnel have also been deployed in treatment and quarantine facilities.

Lorenzana said military ships and aircraft can be used to transport the life-saving shots, adding that 11 of Navy's ships pass the refrigeration requirement for vaccines.

"Kung dadalhan po natin ‘yong mga isla ay puwede nating gamitin ‘yong barko. At isa pa po, ‘yong ating mga eroplano din ay handa ring mag-transport ng mga vaccines mula Manila papuntang probinsiya (If required to transport vaccines to our islands, we can use these ships. And one more thing, all are our aircraft are also ready and capable of transporting vaccines from Manila to the provinces)," he added.

Latest data from the National Task Force Against Covid-19 shows about 10,065,414 vaccine doses have been administered nationwide as of June 27. Meantime, as of June 28, the country's total vaccine doses is 17,455,470.

The country's average jab rate over the last seven days is at 236,867 doses across 1,231 active vaccination hubs.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1145281