CLARK FREEPORT ZONE (PIA) -- The Philippines has reached the 12 million mark in its COVID-19 vaccination program, as it recorded an additional one million jabs in just four days. 

In today’s Ceremonial Vaccination of the A4 Priority Group in Central Luzon, National Task Force Against COVID-19 Deputy Chief Implementer Vince Dizon said with this rate, he is confident that the country will be able to achieve herd immunity before the year ends. 

“This is a testament to the national and local government workers, as well as our healthcare workers who have worked so hard to really ramp up our vaccination efforts,” he said. 

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, Dizon said Pampanga is one of the first who responded to the situation by accepting the first batch of repatriates from Wuhan [China] in Clark, when many are still afraid to do so. 

“Since April last year, our local officials are constantly working to battle COVID here in Pampanga. They built quarantine facilities, they built a laboratory. For that, we are thankful,” he said. 

The official also thanked the healthcare workers for their continuous service, as he called on the public to spare them from fake and malicious news circulating online.

“It’s been a year and a half of non-stop work for them. Seeing those that come out of the news and internet is just sad. They don’t deserve that. They are also human beings, and they also feel tired,” he said. 

Meanwhile, he also thanked economic frontline workers and companies who continue to work despite the pandemic and who generates a lot of revenue for the government and provides jobs to the people. 

Dizon said with their significant contribution to the economy, it is the government’s way to thank them by providing them with the much needed vaccines.

For his part, Luen Thai International Group Phils., Inc. President Francisco Sauceda thanked both the national and local government for providing vaccines to their sector, which he said is the most important gift that anyone can receive in modern times. 

He said on their end, they also rolled out a program called Vax to Normal to motivate people to get vaccinated. With this, he said from only 10 percent of the people in their company who wants to be vaccinated, this increased to over 90 percent.

Sauceda also affirms their company’s commitment as partner of the government in its vaccination program, adding that it is only the way to protect their health and business.

“The more vaccinations that we have in our company, in our friends, in our neighbors, and in other companies, the more opportunity we have to become an open country to do more business and for our people to enjoy themselves and go back to normal. When our people are vaccinated, we’re not going to have any more lockdowns, we’re going to have the air shipments. We’re not going to be having the problems of before,” he said.

A total of 500 economic frontline workers were vaccinated during the symbolic activity. Luenthai has a total of 3,500 workers in Clark and 700 in the City of San Fernando, whom they target to fully-vaccinate by August 2021. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA-3)