SCIENTISTS from the University of Santo Tomas urged the government to review its plan to open a mega vaccination center in Nayong Pilipino saying that it poses safety concerns.

The university’s College of Science said that the accessibility and inclusivity of the mega vaccine site is unclear.

“UST-CS expresses its sentiments regarding the proposed mega vaccine center in Nayong Pilipino and urges the national government departments and agencies (i.e., Office of the President, Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Tourism, Department of Health) to review the urgency and benefits of the said infrastructure versus immediate and sufficient vaccine allocation and distribution,” the college said.

On April 10, the IATF ratified the Department of Tourism’s vaccination hub proposal through IATF Resolution No. 109. The vaccination hub can accommodate up to 12,000 people per day.

Malacañang has asked groups who opposed the proposal not to stand in the way of the project.

However, the Thomasian scientists proposed that the government must produce accessible community-based vaccination centers.

“Covid19 vaccination facilities should be inclusive and in reach of every community. The mega vaccination facility is not inclusive, efficient, nor safe for everyone who may need to travel from their locality to the centralized facility, thus increasing their exposure to non-household and non-community contacts. This defeats the purpose of the minimum health protocols of the national and local government units,” they said.

Instead of setting up a big centralized facility, the government should strengthen the vaccination capacities of local government units.

“Current efforts on immunization should not be delayed by the construction of this facility,” they said.

“The present local vaccination centers are just waiting for a national financial support and boost terms of its vaccine capacities, facilities, and distribution,” they added.