The Bacolod City government launched its second “VAX-i” bus in partnership with Vallacar Transit, Inc. yesterday afternoon at the Bacolod City Government Center grounds.

With the second VAX-i bus in operation, the city government hopes to reach as many vaccine recipients in keeping with the target to hasten efforts to achieve herd immunity.

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) efforts these past months have been highly commendable as the team of City Administrator Em Ang, concurrent executive director of the EOC, the doctors, nurses and frontliners have introduced  innovations and established many “firsts” in the vaccination drive that are now being replicated by other local government units in the country.

These pioneering initiatives include the recent implementation of the mobile vaccination using the city government’s bus dubbed as VAX-i or the vaccine taxi that initially inoculated 4,752 market vendors and business process outsourcing (BPO) employees, the drive-thru vaccination at the 5th level parking area of Ayala Malls Capitol Central on top of the ongoing inoculation at mass vaccination sites, different malls and other on-site venues available at major BPO companies.

Vallacar Transit Inc., through its president Leo Rey Yanson and matriarch Olivia Yanson, has generously offered the use of one of its buses for the mobile vaccination drive of the city, said Councilor Cindy Rojas.

Present during the launching were Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, and city councilors; Ang; Dr. Edwin Miraflor Jr., OIC-City Health Officer; Dr. Chris Sorongon, EOC deputy medical, and other officials of the COVID-19 Vaccination Council and the EOC-Task Force.

CoVaC reported that the local government has so far inoculated a total of 180,045 residents, close to 80,000 of whom have already been fully vaccinated as of Sunday, August 15./WDJ