Cebu City's vaccination program starts; health workers are priority

CEBU, Philippines —  It’s a go for Cebu City’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout today, March 24, 2021, after its Vaccine Board approved two new locations for the vaccinations – Robinsons Galleria at the North Reclamation Area and the Senior High School building of the University of Cebu in Barangay Banilad.

“Niuyon na gyud si Vice Mayor Mike Rama sa Robinsons Galleria,” said Councilor David Tumulak yesterday.

Rama heads the Vaccine Board.

The board earlier disapproved doing the vaccination at the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish-Don Bosco Youth Center in Barangay Punta Princesa due to some concerns, including lack of ventilation and lack of facilities. The board also pointed out that the site is not friendly to persons with disabilities.

In a Facebook post yesterday afternoon, Tumulak also announced that UC President and Chairman Augusto Go himself offered the school’s senior high school building for the vaccination program.

“Si Atty. Augusto Go mitawag kanato ug mitanyag sa lugar, daghang Salamat Atty. Go, UC staff, Engr. Flores ug si Mr Cydar Oraiz and staff sa UC sa pagtabang pagpahimotang, ug kini way bayad. Sugdan na ugmang adlawa ang pag bakuna sa mga BHWs, Medical Clinics sa syudad sa Sugbo,” Tumulak said.

UC is a private institution.

He said the city’s personnel have also set up the necessary equipment at Robinsons Galleria.

“Kumpleto na kay ato namang ma-install kay nisugot naman si vice mayor. Ready naman sad unta to, naplastar naman sad unta to, pero wa ra nato giplastar kay atong gipatan-aw og una si vice mayor kay maparehas unya didto sa Don Bosco nga nagplastar ta unya siya dili uyon,” Tumulak said yesterday.

Vaccination will start at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m.

The city’s medical frontliners and barangay health workers are the priority recipients of the vaccines but nurses and doctors of private medical clinics who are residents of the city will also be included in the vaccination.

At least 1,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines intended for medical frontliners arrived at the City Health Department on Sunday, and will have to be administered within six days.

City Health Department Officer-in-charge Jeffrey Ibones said earlier they hope to meet the deadline for vaccination for AstraZeneca.

Schools

Meanwhile, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said school buildings must only be a last resort should the government use them as vaccination sites.

“School buildings should only be used for other purposes as a last resort as it is a home of the school children,” Briones said in a virtual press conference.

She said existing policies on the use of schools for activities other than academic should be assessed carefully.

“If school is already used as a quarantine center or as an isolation center, it should not be used as a vaccination center. Kung vaccination center, vaccination center lang. Huwag ihalo sa mga isolation, evacuation, etc.,” Briones said.

In Central Visayas, DepEd-7 Director Salustiano Jimenez said only two local government units have, so far, requested that schools in their jurisdictions be used as vaccination centers.

“So far, request pa lang. Wala pay na-approved. We are still coordinating with DOH, DILG and IATF because there are requirements to be followed for schools to be used as a vaccination center,” Jimenez told The Freeman.

Briones also said that teachers should not be made to administer the vaccines.

“The Department of Health and the Department of Education, without even talking to each other, we said separately that we are not going to involve the teachers as vaccinators because a procedure in medical procedure requires people who are trained and have exposure,” Briones said.

The education secretary said the role of teachers will be in campaigning for more voluntary participants in the vaccination program, including from among themselves.

During the basic education committee hearing in the Senate in February, DepEd spokesperson, Undersecretary Nepumuceno Malaluan, told senators that DepEd will conduct a survey on the willingness of teachers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Briones said the survey was able to gather 400,000 voluntary responses of which half said they are willing to be vaccinated. The other half wants to learn more about the vaccine.

“But 76 percent of the 400,000 are willing to help out in the campaign of the vaccination program,” Briones said. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon, JMO (FREEMAN)