The House of Representatives has allotted P50 million for free Covid-19 vaccination of its employees, as well as their immediate families.
At a news conference, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said the vaccination program will be available for House employees and their five immediate family members.
Velasco said the vaccine that will be administered would either come from AstraZeneca from the UK, or Sinovac from China, which both are expected to be available by early next year.
“For the normalcy of business in Congress, we’ve decided to set aside a certain amount for the vaccines, for purchasing of vaccines for our employees. Five of their immediate family members will be included, mainly because we want the legislative mill to be grinding,” Velasco said.
He also said members of the media covering the lower chamber and their immediate families would also be provided the free vaccine.
“We also thought that our media friends are also considered as our family. So we’ll include our media friends in the vaccines,” said Velasco.
“[But] the members of the House [will] not yet be included. We’ll start to get the vaccines first for the employees and the media and their families,” he added.
Earlier, the House announced that a total of 98 employees turned out Covid-19 positive in the mass testing initiated by the House leadership.
Meanwhile, Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin G. Romualdez said the House had made the necessary adjustments in the 2021 national budget to ensure sufficient funding for Covid-19 vaccination and social amelioration programs.
“We have made all the requisite adjustments, congressmen have made all the sacrifices to prioritize the vital needs of the nation, in terms of medical concerns like vaccines and social amelioration program. We are one with the President and one with you and the nation to defeat this Covid-19 pandemic and help us recover economically,” Romualdez said.
Congress has allocated P72.5 billion for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines under the proposed 2021 P4.5-trillion General Appropriations Act.
Image credits: AP