Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has ordered a dry run of four additional mall-based vaccination sites to cater to residents falling under priority categories and are registered through barangay-assisted bookings.
“This is part of our efforts to make it as easy as possible for our residents to get a shot and be protected against COVID-19,” she said.
Belmonte emphasized their objective is to make the process easier and more accessible for senior citizens and individuals with co-morbidities who are not capable of booking for vaccination appointments online.
She said the new vaccination sites — SM City Sta. Mesa, Robinsons Magnolia, SM City Fairview and Robinsons Novaliches – would provide the medical personnel for the inoculation program both Quezon City residents in their areas and their staff that belong to the priority sector.
Belmonte welcomed the development, saying this is a win-win situation as more essential workers and priority residents would be vaccinated “the faster we can achieve economic recovery.”
Margie Santos, Business Permits and Licensing Department chief, said the partnership with malls allows the city government to fast track its inoculation drive against COVID-19.
Such partnership would also address the lack of available healthcare workers to conduct the vaccination.
“Our private partners provide us with venue and manpower. In return, we provide them vaccines and supervision in administering these. These partnerships not only help ramp-up our vaccination drive but also increases foot traffic in commercial areas that can help businesses recover amidst the pandemic,” she said.