JUST over five months ago, local government units (LGUs) in Laguna province were brimming with optimism as they finally kicked off their own Covid-19 vaccination programs.
The consensus was, yes, supplies are scarce (which was why they were limited at first to frontline health workers and senior citizens), but with the arrival of millions of vaccines by June or July, the situation will stabilize and the program will soon be available to the general population.
However, as the province currently continues to grapple with a surge in Covid-19 cases – one of the highest in Calabarzon region – delays and cancellations in the scheduling of vaccinations have become commonplace.
The reason? Lack of supplies of Covid-19 vaccines.
It’s mind-boggling that despite the record-high Covid-19 cases in the province, it seemed that the supply could not keep up with the demand.
One mayor was even obliged to write to the Department of Health (DOH) to request for additional vaccine doses to “speed the rate” of vaccination in his city.
This, despite the boastings of the National Task Force (NTF) handling the country’s vaccination program that millions of vaccines have arrived and are expected to arrive in the Philippines this month.
Clearly, there’s a will among our local officials to fast-track the government’s Covid-19 vaccination program. But how can they speed it up when the people handling the national program appears to be lackadaisical?
This is just another sign of what appears to be a growing disconnect between what our national officials were saying and what is actually happening on the ground.
This does not sit well with Lagunenses who are proving to be more than willing to have themselves vaccinated and get this “nightmare” of a pandemic over with.