Bankers thanked Zambo govt.

THE ZAMBOANGA City Bankers and Financiers Association (ZCBFA), Inc. expressed gratitude to the local government and thanked Mayor Beng Climaco for exerting efforts to include those working in banks in the mass vaccination program.

Bank employees are vaccinated against the deadly Covid-19 respiratory disease. (Image: Mayor Beng Climaco Facebook page)

Inocente Locson, the ZCBFA president, said at least 50% of the local bankers had been vaccinated against the Covid-19. He thanked Climaco for prioritizing those working in banks since they are exposed to people and money, and could potentially infect or expose them to the deadly respiratory virus. 

There had been a number of bank employees who were infected with the Covid-19 which forced some of the commercial banks to temporarily close during the duration of the quarantine period of those who got the virus. 

Even security guards and messengers and janitors from the different banks were also vaccinated. 

“Mayor Beng, on behalf of the Zamboanga Bankers and Financiers Association, Inc., muchisimas gracias gayot kay ta pwede ya man vaccine el banking community. God bless you always,” Locson said in his text message to the mayor. 

Climaco said the local government is exerting all efforts to get more vaccines to be able to vaccinate at least 70% of the population to achieve herd immunity.

Last month, some 11,800 doses of Covid-19 vaccines purchased by the Climaco administration from the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca arrived in Zamboanga City and benefited thousands of residents.

Climaco signed a $2 million (or roughly P100 million) deal with AstraZeneca early this year. The initial P200 million for the purchase of the vaccines are included in the P4.38-billion 2021 Executive Budget of the local government, according to Climaco, who is also a member of the Committee on Vaccine Availment of the League of Cities of the Philippines.

Zamboanga is one of the first cities that entered into a multilateral agreement for the purchase of vaccines through the League of Cities. 

Climaco said the local government’s vaccination program will cover almost 700,000 residents or 70% of the nearly 1 million inhabitants. Tens of thousands of residents had been inoculated with Covid-19 vaccines the past months based on the Department of Health’s (DOH) prioritization - A1 (Medical frontliners), A2 (Senior citizens) and A3 (People with comorbidity) and recently the A4 (Frontliner personnel in essential sector). 

The mayor has repeatedly urged residents - especially the elderly sector and those with comorbidity - to register online. She said residents who are 18-years old and above are also encouraged to register online - www.zambocovax.com or by visiting the nearest health center. (Zamboanga Post)