Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 15) — San Juan City has the highest number of registrants for the COVID-19 vaccine in Metro Manila, Mayor Francis Zamora said Monday, but the number remains well below its target recipients as of February 15.
In a briefing, Zamora said they were informed by the Department of Health that San Juan was the top city in the country’s capital region in terms of the current number of registrants.
“Mismong ang DOH ang nagbanggit na San Juan ang may pinakamaraming nagparehistro para sa COVID-19 vaccines,” he added.
[Translation: The DOH mentioned that San Juan has the most number of COVID-19 vaccination registrants.]
Zamora said San Juan City had 24,559 registrants as of 7 a.m. Monday.
The current number, however, was only 28.76 percent of the city’s target of about 85,400 individuals.
Zamora acknowledged the need to further ramp up the local government’s efforts to boost public trust in COVID-19 vaccines.
“Nagsimula na po tayo mag-house to house last week… kung saan tayo ay nag-di-disseminate nang tamang impormasyon [tungkol sa bakuna] para mawala ang mga takot nila,” he said.
[Translation: We have started conducting house-to-house visits to disseminate correct information [about the vaccines] to allay their fears.]
The official added that he has formally asked the permission of the DOH to allow him to be among the initial recipients of the vaccine to increase San Juan residents’ confidence in the vaccination process.
The city government earlier secured a tripartite deal with the national government and pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca for the purchase of vaccines against the virus.
