President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leads launching of the bivalent covid-19 vaccination at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City | June 21, 2023 #pbbm #smninews Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNaQMcnWvx95j7OG3217IMg/join Follow SMNI News Viber & Telegram Community Get updates via Viber: https://bit.ly/3od1x76 Join us on Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/cUkfwNmbtT4yYTg1 Wag kalimutang mag-JOIN at mag-SUBSCRIBE sa ating Youtube channel Click the link to Subscribe: 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 https://www.youtube.com/c/SmniNews?sub_confirmation=1 📺 Watch Us On Digital TV SMNI News Channel FREE TV on Ch. 39 Manila, Ch. 39 Butuan, Ch. 39 Roxas, Ch. 38 Vigan, Ch. 37 Isabela, Ch. 35 Laoag, Sky Cable Ch. 162 Manila. Sky Cable Ch 46 Davao and Cignal Ch. 186 💻📱 Online at www.smninewschannel.com #TruththatMatters #roadto2millionsubs #SMNINews Visit us on : http://www.smninewschannel.com Visit us on : https://www.facebook.com/SmniNews/ Visit us on : h

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President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

To formally begin our program, may we call on Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte to deliver her welcome remarks.

To His Excellency President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos,

to the Special Assistant to the President, Secretary Antonio Lagdameo, Jr.,

to the Secretary of Health, Dr. Tedoro J. Herbosa,

to the Undersecretary and Chief of Staff of the DOH Central Office, Dr. Gloria J. Balboa,

Regional Director of DOH MMCHD, Dr. Aleli Annie Grace Sudiakal,

Assistant Secretary for Community Participation, DILG Central Office, ASEC Elizabeth N. Lopez de Leon,

Assistant Regional Director, DILG-NCR, SASU 5, Attorney Annalyn R. Baltazar-Cortez,

Officer in Charge of the World Health Organization, Dr. Graham Harrison,

Deputy Chairman of the MMDA USEC Frisco S. San Juan, Jr.,

and Executive Director of the Philippine Heart Center, Dr. Joel M. Abanilla.

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

It is with great pleasure and a deep sense of hope that we welcome our esteemed guest today,

led by His Excellency President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos,

as we mark yet another significant step in our collective battle against COVID-19.

The arrival of these bivalent vaccines, which shall be administered to our healthcare workers beginning today,

is a crucial milestone in our ongoing efforts to protect them from various serious illnesses.

Last May, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency

and that the virus was much less alarming.

Despite this, however, new strains and variants are identified every so often,

and while we now have the freedom to return to our pre-pandemic routines of working on-site,

sending our kids to school, or going about our regular activities,

there is still concern for our health and safety, most especially that of our vulnerable sectors.

Unfortunately, our healthcare workers, who to date are our greatest heroes,

continue to be at risk of this invisible enemy, day in and day out,

as they go about caring for our sick loved ones.

Since we started our vaccination efforts in March 2021,

we have witnessed how effective vaccines have been in deterring the spread of COVID.

In Quezon City, we mobilized different strategies in order to encourage all QC residents and workers to be vaccinated.

As of June 20, Quezon City has administered 6.8 million doses of vaccines, including booster shots.

84% of our population, both adults and minors, are fully vaccinated.

I'm sorry, it's just 84%.

But today, with renewed optimism, we can look forward to the end of this virus.

Much like the first batch of vaccines, this bivalent vaccine will be a powerful tool

to safeguard our medical workers and eventually everyone who will receive it.

Unlike the monovalent COVID-19 vaccines, this bivalent COVID-19 vaccine is a scientific achievement

that promises greater, longer, and stronger protection.

With this vaccine, recipients will create immune responses against multiple strains,

providing additional layers of defense.

I express my sincerest gratitude to the scientists, researchers, professionals, and manufacturers

who dedicated their time, mental acumen, and resources to developing these vaccines.

We also thank the government of Lithuania for donating these vaccines to the Filipino people.

Most especially, we extend much appreciation to our national government,

led by our beloved president, Bongbong Marcos,

for choosing the health workers here at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City

to be the very first recipients of this vaccine in our country.

By protecting them, we are also protecting the patients that depend on them for their health and well-being.

Finally, we anticipate with much excitement the commercial availability of these bivalent vaccines

so that the general public may have access to them and the protection they promise to give.

Indeed, we truly cannot wait to finally bid this virus goodbye once and for all.

And this ceremonial inoculation of our hospital-based workers at the Heart Center

is the first step to achieving this objective.

Again, thank you very much, Mr. President, at sa ating pong lahat, marami pong salamat, mabuhay po tayo lahat.

Thank you, Mayor Belmonte.

And now may we call on Health Secretary Gennaro Herboza to give us a bird's eye view

of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccination and introduce our guest of honor.

Honorable President Ferdinand Bongbong R. Marcos, Jr.,

Honorable Mayor Joy Belmonte of Quezon City,

Special Assistant to the President, Secretary Anton Lagdameo,

our Philippine Heart Center Executive Director, Dr. Joel Abanilla,

our international partners, staff and doctors of the Philippine Heart Center,

my colleagues in the Department of Health,

ladies and gentlemen, isang magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

Through the generosity of the people and the government of Lithuania,

our Department of Health received more than 390,000 doses of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines.

It is a booster shot that strengthens the immunity of an individual

considering this donation is a booster for our collective effort to strengthen the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic.

We expect more doses to come.

For now, as before, first in line for added protection will be our healthcare workers,

the frontliners, which we call Priority A1.

And then our senior citizens, as you know, the highest mortality are among senior citizens,

so we prioritize them as what we call as A2.

The heart of our national COVID-19 vaccination program

is the protection first of our defenders against COVID-19 and also the most vulnerable.

We are always grateful for and inspired by the strong support

that no less than our honorable president has for vaccination that saves lives.

It is natural for the father of our nation, the leader of our government,

to always seek a better quality of life for every Filipino.

Tunay nga na sa healthy Pilipinas, ang bawat buhay ay mahalaga.

We also acknowledge the help of many government agencies as well as the private sector,

our international organizations and partners

who have consistently supported the Department of Health's COVID-19 vaccination campaigns

from ResVacuna to Pinas Lakas, the DILG, the World Health Organization,

the Metro Manila Development Authority, and local government units.

Although too many to mention, each and every one has contributed significantly.

We deeply thank all of you for being one and united with the Department of Health.

Because we have been working together, we are now feeling the results,

an open economy, a once more vibrant community.

Isa ang bakuna sa paraan para umiwas sa sakit at maging mahanda sa anumang pandemia.

The Department of Health urges everyone, starting with our healthcare workers and senior citizens,

to strengthen the immunity against COVID-19 by getting these bivalent boosters.

Magpabakuna at magpabooster na tayo para sa isang healthy Pilipinas

kung saan bawat buhay ay mahalaga.

Moving forward, it is my pleasure to introduce the President of the Republic of the Philippines,

His Excellency, Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr.

Thank you very much for your kind introduction and remarks, Secretary Ted.

Please take your seats.

Secretary Ted Erboza of the Department of Health,

Quezon City Mayor, Mayor Joy Belmonte,

who was saying that her vaccination rate of 84% was unsatisfactory,

and I was just telling her it's a very good number,

and we should congratulate her for having managed to do that.

Now we call upon her again and all the local government units to bring those who are in the vulnerable category.

Hindi ko nalang sasabihin ang mga may edad kasi kasama na ako doon.

But back to and encourage all of them to get this bivalent vaccine.

The Philippine Heart Center Executive Director, Joel Abanilla,

my fellow workers in government, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Every time I address our frontline workers, our health workers,

I always begin with a big thank you to all of you

for all the sacrifices you did during the height of the pandemic,

for all the work that you put in that saved millions,

and I'm not exaggerating here, millions of Filipino lives.

And furthermore, the risks that you knowingly took to continue your work

to treat those who have come down with COVID in whatever way we will.

Kulang lahat, kulang ang PPE, wala tayong vaccine, wala tayong lahat ng kailangan, hindi natin naiintindihan.

I can speak of this intimately as I was a victim, and that's why I know the condition that the patients felt,

and what a relief and what a godsend your care was to all of those who had suffered from COVID.

So once again, thank you, thank you, thank you very much for all that you did.

It is an honor for me to speak to you today as we have attempted to emerge from the global pandemic

and walk onto the clear path of recovery.

We have been praying that the COVID-19 pandemic will soon be over,

and in a way our prayers have been answered because the incidence of COVID-19 amongst our populace,

especially since the vaccines came into play, have certainly decreased.

And even the symptoms that we suffer are no longer as severe as they were with the original onset of COVID-19.

And then coming on to the Delta and the Omicron variants, we have seen slowly, slowly, slowly,

that this danger has gone away, has almost completely gone away.

However, these new variants force us to once again reexamine what it is that we can do to help protect our populace.

And that is why we are now here today to highlight this extremely important program, once again, vaccination program,

which we are going to have to institute.

Because although the general populace, the symptoms have lessened, hospitalizations have lessened,

even the incidence of mortality has lessened.

However, there is a very distinct group that is highly vulnerable to these new variants,

and that is what we are vaccinating for.

And that vulnerable group are those with severe comorbidities and with those who are our senior citizens.

So all of this, and so we must not let our guard down.

Although the rest of society, the other sectors of our society that have tried to move on

and say the emergency is over, and certainly, in a way, we can say that that is the case.

However, it is not over completely, and that is why we should not be complacent,

and that is why we institute programs like this, which continue to seek to protect our vulnerable populace,

our vulnerable sectors of our populace, and that particular demographic in this case is that of the elderly.

But rest assured that with the use of science-based strategies and a whole-of-society approach,

these risks will remain manageable.

It cannot be denied that vaccines have played an integral role in our fight against COVID-19.

And so that is why it is important that I come to be with you as we launch the bivalent vaccination campaign of the Department of Health,

as we strive to finally eradicate severe disease from COVID-19.

It's only fitting that we are joined here by our friends and partners from around the world

who have provided invaluable assistance to the country during the pandemic.

The Philippines conveys its gratitude to the governments of the Republic of Lithuania for the generosity

and their donation of the country's first batch of bivalent vaccines.

I am hopeful that we will further deepen our cooperations in such areas, both our great nations,

as well as sustain this bond of friendship that we have strengthened now.

Rest assured that this government under this administration treasures that special relationship,

and your act of generosity today will certainly not go unnoticed or ever be forgotten.

On behalf of the Filipino people, I also express the gratitude to the WHO and the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, or COVAX,

for the continuing assistance that we have received in the Philippines during and even after the pandemic.

Last month, on the 5th of May, the entire global population welcomed a significant worldwide victory

when the WHO proclaimed the end of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern.

We certainly owe a debt as well to our vaccine manufacturers, our scientists, our healthcare workers,

and everyone who gave so much so that the world could return to a state of normalcy.

Let this occasion serve as a call to every Filipino to continue doing your part,

get updated on your COVID-19 vaccination to prevent the resurgence as a means of honoring those who sacrificed their lives during the pandemic.

I thus appeal to everyone, especially those who have yet to receive their primary series of vaccinations, to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

This is not for your own good alone, but also for the protection of your families and the general public.

Government-assisted vaccines, including the bivalent doses, are free for every Filipino.

So under the leadership of our newly appointed DOH Secretary, I expect that the DOH will continue to fortify its efforts to protect the Filipino public against all health risks.

I would also like to thank, of course, our tireless officials and employees in our local government duties on whom the load has fallen,

on whose shoulders the load has fallen when it comes down to the grassroots level.

Of course, our healthcare workers, other national government agencies, all of whom were involved,

and I thank them for their dedication to this country's vaccination campaign.

I urge all of us to remain relentless in our fight against COVID-19 and all other infectious diseases that threaten the country.

As long as we exhibit discipline, observe cleanliness, and practice cooperation,

we will overcome the residual challenges that still are posed by COVID-19 and emerge stronger than ever as members of a healthy, resilient, and productive Philippine society.

May the Almighty God continue to bless us with His divine protection and grace.

And I thank you all very much once again for your service.

And I thank you once again for rising up to this challenge and taking on this new program of bivalent vaccination for our populace.

Magpavakuna na po kayong lahat at magpavakuna po tayo para hindi na tayo magkasakit, makabalik tayo sa trabaho na mas mabilis,

at lahat ng nais nating gawin ay may gagawa natin dahil tayo ay ligtas sa sakit.

Kaya't mabuhay ulit ang trabaho ng Department of Health, mabuhay ang mga Pilipino, mabuhay tayong lahat. Maraming maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat.

Thank you, Mr. President. That concludes our program. Thank you, Mr. President, for gracing the event today.

Once again, ladies and gentlemen, His Excellency, Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

We would like to request everyone to please remain in your places until the President has left the venue.

Thank you.

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