President Ferdinand “Bong Bong“ R. Marcos, Jr., Department of Health Officer-in-Charge Secretary Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire, and SM Supermalls President Steven Tan led the launch of the PinasLakas vaccination campaign at SM City Manila, with the Chief Executive and his son, Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos receiving their second booster and first booster shots, respectively.
Citing the overview of the campaign, OIC Vergeire underscored the importance of bringing the vaccines closer to the people through a settings-based approach. She stressed the importance of accessibility in the pursuit of building a wall of immunity against the virus.
President Marcos thanked the Department of Health and its implementing units for ensuring that health and protection is at the forefront of our pandemic response through sustained vaccination efforts. He then encouraged everyone to get vaccinated to protect not only themselves, but also for their families, as well as the community.
Joining the event are Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., Presidential Management Staff Secretary Maria Zenaida Anging, Manila City Mayor Honey Lacuna, SM Supermalls President Steven Tan, and other senior national government, health, and city officials.
The PinasLakas campaign is the intensified vaccination and booster drive of the Marcos administration, which aims to strengthen the country’s wall of immunity against COVID-19.
SM Supermalls, a partner of the national government since the first quarter of 2021, has already administered almost 10.5 million doses to various priority groups in its multi-mall vaccination drive in partnership with various local governments nationwide to be ideal venues for their vaccination programs. The country as a whole has recorded over 71.5 million fully vaccinated Filipinos as of August 15, 2022.