Teodoro: Let mayors go first
I wanted to be vaccinated first because, as I have been telling them, my constituents have doubts. Many of them are worried. They fear for their safety from the vaccine and they want to know first if what will be used on them is effective
The Department of Health (DoH) yesterday halted the supposed vaccination of Marikina City Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro, saying the city’s health workers should be prioritized first.
Teodoro earlier offered to be the first to be inoculated in the city as he wanted to lead by example to boost the public’s confidence in the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine.
However, minutes before his scheduled inoculation, he was informed by the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG), through Testing Czar Secretary Vince Dizon, that mayors are prohibited from taking the vaccine for now in order to give way to health care workers.
“I was advised through NTF deputy chief implementer and testing czar Vince Dizon the statement of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group of DOH, of Secretary Duque, that mayors, such as I, will not be allowed to be vaccinated because they want health care workers to be prioritized,” Teodoro said in a press conference.
“I wanted to be vaccinated first because, as I have been telling them, my constituents have doubts. Many of them are worried. They fear for their safety from the vaccine and they want to know first if what will be used on them is effective,” he explained.
The Marikina mayor expressed disappointment with the development and requested that mayors be allowed to get vaccinated in order to serve as an example and boost the confidence of people in the vaccine and the vaccination program.
He even showed media his accomplished Covid-19 vaccination consent form, proving that he is really prepared to get vaccinated with Sinovac.
“I hope mayors will be allowed to have themselves vaccinated to serve as a role model and example, so that our constituents will trust the process and manner of vaccination,” Teodoro explained.
The mayor said the most pressing issue now that needs to be addressed is that a lot of people do not trust the vaccination process in its entirety, and not just the kind of vaccine that is going to be used in the inoculation program.
He said the number of medical frontliners at the state-run Amang Rodriguez Medical Center who prequalified for vaccination has significantly decreased from 1,500 health care workers to only 130.
Likewise, he said when he asked some residents if they want to be vaccinated, they said they would but opted to wait until others have gone ahead of them,
This is why the Marikina mayor came up with the concept of “follow the leader,” and presented himself to be the first person to get the Covid-19 jab in the city.
“We need leaders who will go first, leaders who will serve as an example so that there will be trust in the process, in the manner and in the vaccination program,” Teodoro said, underscoring the importance of the vaccine in the fight against Covid-19 and to achieve the goal of returning to normalcy as soon as possible.
During the ceremonial rollout of Covid-19 vaccines at the Marikina City Mega Vaccination Facility, four doctors of the DoH-run Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center — Dr. Emerson U. Chua, Dr. Flordeliza F. Grana, Dr. Alih Bryan T. Catis and Dr. Rocky R. Dizon — were inoculated.