Twenty-nine members of the national volleyball team got their first dose of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during a mass inoculation of athletes bound for the Tokyo Olympics and Hanoi 31st Southeast Asian Games.
The mass vaccination took place at the Prince Hotel along San Marcelino Street in Malate, Manila.
“The Philippine National Volleyball Federation [PNVF] is very grateful to Cong. Bambol for the vaccination of our athletes, not only in volleyball, but for all national sports associations,” PNVF Ramon “Tats” Suzara said. “At last, our national athletes are shielded from serious complications of the virus.”
Eighteen men and 11 women athletes from the PNVF national pool got their first dose.
There are at present 56 members of the national pool—20 men and 16 women in volleyball and 20 each for men and women beach volleyball. But not everyone was vaccinated because most of the players are in the provinces—beach volleyball is in training camp in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, and some are abroad.
National coaches Dante Alinsunurin (men volleyball) and OdjieMamon (women volleyball) were also also inoculated.
Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino initiated the effort to convince the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The turn of events on the inoculation of athletes was swift and efficient. Tolentino wrote the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases through Health Secretary Francisco Duque III last May 18 and on May 24, got a positive response.
The inoculation happened four days later on may 28.
The City of Manila and Barangay 719 in Malate collaborated with the vaccine rollout.
Tolentino announced recently that all other athletes—outside those bound for the Tokyo Olympics and SEA Games—will also be vaccinated as approved by the government through Secretary Vince Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force Against Covid 19.
The date and venue for the second round of vaccination will be announced later.
The Tokyo Olympics are set from July 23 to August 8, while the SEA Games are scheduled from November 21 to December 2.