By HENRY EMPEÑO | September 20, 2021

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – More workers from various locator companies in this free port have gotten vaccinated in the past week, as the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) intensified its vaccine rollout in an effort to promote workplace safety and increase economic productivity here.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said at least 10 of the biggest employers in the Subic Freeport have either finished or had scheduled the vaccination of their workers under the SBMA rollout.

Starting last Monday, at least 500 workers from hotels and accommodation facilities in the Freeport also received their second dose of Sinovac vaccine under the SBMA’s inoculation program in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH).

The intensified vaccine drive is made possible with increased vaccine allocations from the DOH, as well as donations from private groups like the ICTSI Foundation, Eisma added.

Better facilities for vaccine storage and transportation, as well as the availability of two inoculation sites that could accommodate hundreds, make the vaccine rollout easier and faster.

Last Thursday, the second phase of SBMA’s vaccination program started at the Subic Gym where 250 employees of MSK Group Work, Inc. (Subic) and some SBMA personnel received their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine.

“This is the start of a more intensified vaccination program for Subic stakeholders because we are able to secure more vaccines now since we have a storage facility with a total capacity of 40,000 doses,” Eisma said.

She said the SBMA received 2,500 doses of Sinovac vaccine from the DOH office in Region 3 last week, as well as 5,000 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine from the ICTSI Foundation. All were for A4 workers.

“We’re exhausting all possible sources of vaccines from both the government and the private sectors, so that we can hasten the vaccination of Subic workers and residents,” Eisma said. “I’m now working with the DOH and IATF to secure new rounds of vaccines to finish with categories A1 to A3,” she added.

Prior to the new rollout, Eisma said the SBMA received two biomedical refrigerators from business locators that can each store up to 20,000 vials of vaccine. These gave the SBMA a good reason to request more vaccines from the DOH.

The Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce also donated an upright freezer for the ice packs used in vaccine carriers from the DOH, thereby boosting SBMA’s storage and transportation capacity.

SBMA Deputy Administrator for Health and Safety Ronnie Yambao said the SBMA is now doing simultaneous vaccination at the two inoculation sites: the SBMA Gymnasium and the activity center of Harbor Point Ayala Mall.

On Friday, the SBMA administered the second dose of Sinovac vaccines to locator employees at Harbor Point, while another team was inoculating workers of the Mikuni Terminals Mechatronics Philippines Corp. with the first dose of AstraZeneca, Yambao said. In the afternoon, GrainPro employees had their turn at the gym.

Eisma said that other Subic companies like Exxinum and Sanyo Denki will have their employees inoculated within company premises. Another firm, Nicera, will have its workers vaccinated at Harbor Point. Juken Sangyo, a Japanese firm at the Subic Techno Park, had its workers vaccinated on Sunday, she said.

Eisma recounted that last July, Nidec factory workers here received the first ever vaccine rollout for essential workers under the A4 category.

“This is the first step for the Subic Bay workforce to get back to normal life and help renew economic growth. It is very important that we all get vaccinated and back on track,” Eisma added. ~