The government will be setting up COVID-19 vaccination sites in transport terminals and train stations to ramp up its immunization efforts amid the recent spike in cases, Malacañang said Friday.
“In the coming days, the Department of Transportation will roll out vaccination sites in rail stations, ports, and tollways,” Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said in a press briefing.
Nograles made the statement after the DOTr started to implement the “no vaccine, no ride” policy to help curb the spread of COVID-19 amid another surge in new infections.
The policy bars the unvaccinated and those partially unvaccinated from accessing public transportation, except for those medically exempt, those who need to acquire essential goods and services, and those working in essential industries.
Nograles said the DOTr will also launch a COVID-19 vaccination drive for transport workers and commuters at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) from Jan. 24 to 28.
The “We Vax As One: Mobile Vaccination Drive” will allow walk-ins with registration to be done onsite.
Around 500 AstraZeneca vaccine doses will be administered daily during the vaccination drive period.
Earlier, the government said it is considering allowing workplaces to serve as vaccination sites to make it easier for unvaccinated workers to get their jabs against COVID-19.
“We want to make vaccines more accessible to workers,” Labor Undersecretary Benjo Santos Benavidez said in Filipino during an online briefing.
To get even more people protected against COVID-19, the government has also begun the pilot run for its “Resbakuna sa mga Botika,” a program to get pharmacies to administer booster shots in Metro Manila.
Seven pharmacies are taking part in the pilot run amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.
At the same time, Nograles said the government will not issue vaccination exemption cards that would allow the unvaccinated to go out of their residences.
Nograles warned the public against people who are going around and offering COVID-19 vaccination exemption cards.