Marikina City Mayor Marcy Teodoro on Thursday maintained that vaccinees have the right to choose the brand of their Covid-19 vaccines so long as supplies are sufficient.

The city is currently administering Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac jabs.

“‘Yung pagkakataon mong makapamili ay ayon at batay kung ano ‘yung available na vaccine. Mapalad ka kung matatapat ‘yung schedule mo na meron ka mapapagpilian pero kung talagang ang schedule natapat na one or two ang available, doon ka mamimili (You can choose from whatever brands are available. If on your schedule, there are two brands, you can choose from them),” Teodoro said in a radio interview on Thursday.

However, he said the right to choose is not absolute as it would depend only on what is available.

“Mapalad ngayong umaga dahil naging available ‘yung isang bakuna na puwedeng pagpilian, ‘yung Pfizer, kaya ngayon merong three options sila. Meron silang Pfizer, Sinovac at AstraZeneca pero ngayong araw ‘yung AstraZeneca parang paubos na siya kaya dalawa na lang brand ang matitira (They were lucky that one more brand became available today, Pfizer, so they had three choices – Pfizer, Sinovac and AstraZeneca. But AstraZeneca is running out, so only two brands would be left),” he added.

Teodoro said 1,100 pre-registered for the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday.

The national government allocated the city 5,700 doses of the US-made jabs.

“There is a thawing period that must be followed so the proper temperature is achieved,” he said.

Teodoro noted that they are eyeing to inoculate about 70 percent of Marikina’s population – about 451,000 as of 2015.

“Inaasahan natin na bago maubos ‘yung unang batch na in-a-allocate ay makakapagdagdag na ng panibagong batch ng Pfizer para sa Marikina lalo na ngayon na sinabi na rin ng DOH (Department of Health) at ng National Vaccination Operations Center na hindi lang qualified ang Marikina kundi very ideal ang setup ng Marikina para sa pagamit ng Pfizer (We’re hoping that before the first batch of Pfizer doses for Marikina is used up, we would get another batch, especially because the DOH and National Vaccination Operations Center said we’re more than qualified to store them),” he said.

Teodoro said he appreciates the public’s growing confidence in the vaccines but reminded them to pre-register with the City Health Office.

Walk-ins are not allowed to prevent overcrowding and ensure that social distancing is followed.

Marikina is capable of vaccinating an average of 3,000 individuals daily at its mega facility at the Marikina Sports Center and Marikina Elementary School.

Another site that can accommodate at least 1,500 daily will be opened at the Sto. Niño Elementary School next week.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government has directed all local government units to refrain from announcing the brand of vaccines to be used.

The recipient can be aware of the brand on-site to prevent a repeat of overcrowding and long queues that occur when brands are announced beforehand, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said. (PNA)