Active and retired public school teachers in Manila belonging to the A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (aged 18-59 with comorbidities) priority groups started receiving their Covid-19 vaccines on Tuesday.

The capital city received 1,400 doses of Sinovac jabs for the teachers.

The Manila Health Department said as of noon, 187 have availed of the vaccines at the Palacio de Maynila on Roxas Boulevard.

“As soon as the city receives an additional supply of the coronavirus disease vaccines, we will deploy them immediately,” Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said in a statement.

He likened the country’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic to a war, when people stay inside their homes or hide while waiting for the fighting to be over.

“Lagi niyong iisipin na tayo ay nasa giyera. May lumilipad na bala, ito yung Covid-19. Laway ito na tumatalsik sa bibig ng tao at maaaring ito’y ma-transmit sa iba pang tao (Always remember that we are in the middle of a war. There are bullets all around. This is Covid-19. There’s saliva that may be transmitted to other persons),” he said on Facebook. (PNA)