PNP tasked to secure COVID-19 vaccines

BY CHITO A. CHAVEZ

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) directed Wednesday the Philippine National Police (PNP) to secure all arriving vaccines in the country to ensure their delivery to the “rightful recipients especially in far-flung areas of the country.’’

DILG officer-in-charge (OIC) Bernardo C. Florece, Jr. said the vaccines considered as “precious as gold” should be secured and escorted by the PNP to the intended destinations.

Upon the order of President Duterte, the DILG instructed the PNP to coordinate with the local government units (LGUs) regarding this task.

“More than a historical milestone, the national vaccination program aims to save lives and will put an end to this pandemic. We direct the PNP to be in close coordination with the LGUs so that these vaccines are secured and protected,” Florece said.

On February 15, the national government targets to commence the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations of frontline healthcare workers with the initial batch of 117,000 doses of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech.

The National Task Force COVID-19 aims to inoculate the first batch of healthcare workers numbering about 1.4 million.

As a member of the Task Group Supply Chain and Logistics, Florece said the PNP is expected to primarily to secure and protect the COVID-19 vaccines and the team that will be administering them. (Chito Chavez)