By MINKA TIANGCO
MANILA Mayor Isko Moreno reacts as Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna gives him his first Sinovac vaccine shot at the President Sergio Osmeña High School in Tondo, Manila on Easter Sunday. (Ali Vicoy)
Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso received his first dose of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine on Easter Sunday, April 4.
Manila Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan administered the vaccine to the mayor at the Pres. Sergio Osmeña High School in Tondo.
This after the President approved the proposal of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) for mayors in high-risk cities and municipalities to get vaccinated against the deadly disease.
He is set to get his second dose of the vaccine around four weeks from now.
Domagoso said he is “grateful” that he was given an opportunity to get vaccinated as it will provide him with added protection against COVID-19.
He also said that it is “high time” that local chief executives get vaccinated because they are highly exposed to COVID-19 when they are out in the field, noting that several mayors have already been infected.
“Ang mayor, sa totoo lamang, ayaw namin makipag-unahan [sa bakunahan], pero kayo, lagi naming kasama sa field, talagang frontline kami,” he said in a press conference.
“Can you imagine if the policy maker got sick? What would happen to the vaccine rollout?” he added.
The Manila mayor did not appear to be bothered by claims that CoronaVac, the COVID-19 vaccine made by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac, has a low efficacy rate.
He said the vaccine is an “approved, safe product based on the regulatory agencies in our country,” citing the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Sinovac’s emergency use authorization on Feb. 22.
