Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot takes his first jab of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds in Mishref Area on 29 April 2021. Administering the Ambassador’s first vaccine shot is Filipino nurse Rogel Bien. (Kuwait PE photo)
To assure the public of the safety and efficacy of the vaccine against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot took the COVID-19 vaccine at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds in Mishref Area on 29 April 2021.
Rogel Bien, a Kuwaiti Ministry of Health (MOH) nurse who was the third Filipino who received the COVID-19 vaccine in Kuwait, administered Ambassador Lomondot’s first jab of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The Ambassador is scheduled to return to Kuwait International Fairgrounds for his second shot after 21 days.
In a statement, Ambassador Lomondot praised the Kuwaiti government’s efforts to inoculate both Kuwaiti citizens and expatriate residents against the COVID-19.
“Our kababayan in Kuwait, especially those on the front lines against the unseen enemy, are grateful to the Kuwaiti government for allowing them to get their COVID-19 shots for free. Indeed, our hardworking Overseas Filipino Workers are needed for Kuwait’s recovery from this pandemic,” the Ambassador said.
At the same time, Ambassador Lomondot encourages all Filipinos in Kuwait to help Kuwait achieve herd immunity, or about 60-70 percent of Kuwait’s total population, and participate in the Kuwaiti government’s mass vaccination drive.
“I strongly urge our kababayan in Kuwait to overcome their fears, listen to the real experts, and get vaccinated. The vaccines that are currently approved for use in Kuwait are highly effective in preventing severe COVID-19 cases. Let us fight COVID-19 together,” the Ambassador said.
Filipinos in Kuwait may get an online appointment for the free COVID-19 vaccine by registering at https://cov19vaccine.moh.gov.kw. Those who are 65 years old and above may walk in at any time at Kuwait International Fairgrounds.
Other Philippine Embassy officials such as Third Secretary and Vice Consul Adrian Audrey L. Baccay, Labor Attaché Nasser S. Mustafa, Assistant Labor Attaché Cathrine A. Duladul, and Welfare Officer Llewelyn D. Perez have also received their own jabs of the COVID-19 vaccine. Efforts are also underway to inoculate the rest of the Embassy staff.
Kuwait is one of the first countries in the world that unveiled a nationwide COVID-19 inoculation campaign, which was launched by Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on 23 December 2020. Among the first in Kuwait who received their coronavirus jabs are Filipino healthcare workers from the Kuwaiti MOH.
Vaccines are administered to individuals to stimulate a person's immune system against infectious diseases. In the Philippines, vaccines are widely administered to infants and children against hepatitis B, measles, polio, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.
While COVID-19 vaccines were developed within a year since the killer disease’s discovery in 2019, there has been an established body of research on coronaviruses that stemmed from the 2002-2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic, and the 2012 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) epidemic. END
Third Secretary and Vice Consul Adrian Audrey L. Baccay (left) and Labor Attaché Nasser S. Mustafa (right) received their respective jabs of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds in Mishref Area. (Kuwait PE photos)
