MANILA CITY – The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) over the weekend deployed anew its mobile Covid-19 “Bakuna Bus,” in fulfillment of its mandate as auxiliary to the government in the humanitarian field. The bus was deployed in response to a request by Chinabank Binondo Business Center for its workers to get vaccinated and boosted where 171 individuals were inoculated.

The deployment was the 13th deployment of the PRC Bakuna Bus in Manila City since August 2021. Previous deployments include Hospicio de San Jose, UP Manila, University of the East, Adamson University, and Manila North Port Harbour. The PRC expressed gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to Manila City’s Covid-19 vaccination efforts.

The interior of the PRC Bakuna Bus is set up with facilities for administering vaccines, Covid-19 vaccines and supplies, and space for vaccinators. It is PRC’s way of bringing the vaccines and information to the people, assuaging their hesitations to get vaccinated. As of date, the PRC has deployed 20 Bakuna buses across the country. The Bakuna buses complement PRC’s Bakuna Centers and Bakuna Teams. More than 488,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines and boosters have been administered in these buses.

“The Red Cross continues its Covid-19 response through our Bakuna Buses, Bakuna Teams, and Bakuna Centers. We also continue to provide RT-PCR and antigen testing in our molecular laboratories,” PRC Chairman and CEO Richard J. Gordon said.

As of 11 September 2022, the PRC has administered more than 1.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and boosters across the country, fully vaccinating over half a million persons. The Department of Health continues to educate the people that the protective effect of vaccines is maximized only when at least 70% of the population are vaccinated. (Philippine Red Cross)