Marina gets 30,000 doses of Moderna vaccine for seafarers

Marina gets 30,000 doses of Moderna vaccine for seafarers
July 22, 2021 https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/07/21/business/maritime/marina-gets-300...

The Inter-Agency Taskforce for Managing emerging Infectious Disease (IATF), through the intercession of Vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez and Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go, has allocated 30,000 doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine exclusively for seafarers.

Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) Administrator VAdm. Robert Empedrad, who requested the vaccine from Sec. Galvez and Sen. Go said the Moderna vaccine would be distributed this week in major vaccination sites throughout the country.

Of this number, 15,000 are allocated for the 1st dose and another 15,000 for the 2nd dose.

The Marina chief announced that the vaccines will be delivered to areas where a sizable number of seafarers lives and where the Associated Marine Officers and Seamen's Union (AMOSUP) medical facilities are located.

These are the following vaccination sites:

AMOSUP Manila - 5,000
Las Piñas - 4,000
Makati - 2,000
Manila - 4,000
Bataan - 1,000
Zambales - 1,000
Legaspi - 1,000
AMOSUP Davao - 3,000
AMOSUP Cebu - 3,000
AMOSUP Iloilo - 3,000

The Administrator expressed his utmost appreciation for Sec. Galvez and Sen. Go for their extra efforts in providing the immediate needs for the Western brand vaccine to the Filipino seafarers since China manufactured vaccines, Sinovac and Sinopharm, are not accepted in some European and Middle East countries.

The administrator was also grateful to the assistance of Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje for the delivery of vaccines to various areas.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced the other day that 3.245 million doses of the single-dose vaccine made by the US pharmaceutical company, Johnson & Johnson, arrived just last week.

Marina and the manning industry prefer the Johnson & Johnson-made vaccine for seafarers since, unlike other brands, it does not need a second dose which is practical to seagoing personnel who are deployed overseas.

With just one jab of the US brand, seafarers are already protected against Covid-19; they no longer need to return for the second shot and are ready for deployment.

Hence, Administrator Empedrad is still looking forward to getting Johnson & Johnson vaccine for seafarers the next time. "We are also waiting for the Johnson & Johnson vaccines," he said, adding that seafarers interested in availing of the Moderna vaccine should register.

The Marina chief said: "The Marina will provide a Portal to be launched this week for the registration." Thus, he encouraged seafarers to check, from time to time, the MARINA Facebook Page for the latest news and updates.

This initiative of Marina is in addition to the vaccination program of local government units (LGUs) which also includes seafarers as their constituents in their respective localities.