THE local government in San Simon town, Pampanga is all set for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccination rollout, which is expected to kick-off by March.
Mayor Abundio Punsalan, Jr. said a group of vaccinators composed of municipal doctors, nurses and health personnel will lead the vaccination program once the vaccines arrive in the country are downloaded to the local government.
"Our personnel and facilities are ready. So far, we are all set for the rollout and hopefully, we can start the vaccination this coming March," Punsalan said.
He noted that the local government targets to cover at least 70 percent of the total population of the town before the year ends.
He said the team of vaccinators looks into vaccinating around 100 persons per day, or about 700 per week.
The mayor said the town will rely on the vaccines that will be downloaded by the Department of Health (DOH) and the provincial government for this year.
He said the local government was not able to allocate funds this year for the acquisition of vaccines as the local budget was approved as early as November 2020.
"The local funds for the purchase of the vaccines will be included in next year's budget and will cover the remaining 30 percent of the population which the DOH and the Capitol cannot vaccinate," he said.
Punsalan also urged Simonians to participate in the vaccination program, which is seen to finally put an end to the global pandemic.
He assured the safety of each vaccine, noting that they were developed by trained scientists and are now used in different countries across the world.
"There's no need to fear because the vaccines are safe. The vaccination will not be mandatory but I hope everybody will participate so we can all be protected," he said.