ABOVE PHOTO: An employee at Taganito Mining in Claver, Surigao del Norte, studies the survey form about vaccination just before Dr. Paulyn Ubial’s address to all NAC employees across the country.
As the Philippine government rolled out its vaccination program across the country, Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) stepped up to connect employees from all its subsidiaries across the country in a virtual conference that directly tackled all issues about the vaccines against COVID 19.
Former Health Secretary Dr. Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial, who heads the Philippine Red Cross Molecular Laboratories, addressed all issues, contentious and otherwise, to answer varied questions from NAC employees from Cagdianao Mining in Dinagat Islands; Cordillera Exploration from Ilocos Sur; Dinapigue Mining in Isabela; Emerging Powers from Subic; Hinatuan Mining and Taganito Mining from Surigao del Norte; and Rio Tuba Mining in Palawan.
NAC is aware that according to recent reports, and from its own internal surveys, 60% of Filipinos do not want to be vaccinated.
But Dr. Ubial’s statement that “the best vaccine is the one in your arm” resonated with all NAC employees and the company hopes that after 2 hours of detailed discussion with Dr. Ubial, this number will improve.
“The pandemic has basically pushed many of us to a corner and with the internet as constant companion, misinformation can spread like wildfire and there is bound to be skepticism. We at NAC believe that an information campaign on something so important like the vaccine can impact the lives of our employees and the residents in our mining communities,” explained Gerardo B. Ongkingco, NAC VP for Human Resources.
“Dr. Ubial helped us cascade authentic information to all our employees as she shared credible, digestible and evidence-based information that our people actually understand and can relate to,” said Ongkingco.
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