High turnout in Metro Cebu on Day 1 of nationwide vaccination drive

CEBU, Philippines —   At least 27,815 received the COVID-19 vaccine in Metro Cebu on the first day of the nationwide “Bayanihan Bakunahan” Monday, November 29, 2021.

Of this number, 9,527 doses are residents of Cebu City; 7,303 are residents of Lapu-Lapu City; 322 are residents of Mandaue City; 2,780 are residents of Consolacion; 1,588 are residents of Cordova; 1,698 are residents of Liloan; 900 are residents of Talisay City; 3,066 are residents of Minglanilla; and 631 are residents of Naga City.               

“The first day for this three-day ‘Bayanihan Bakunahan’ for one Cebu is very good! The response of the community as evidenced by the huge number of turnout in the vaccination sites, and the preparations of the LGU is good,” said Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, chief pathologist of the Department of Health (DOH)-7 and spokesperson of the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC).

She said the restrictions among the unvaccinated at work, as well as at commercial establishments, may have encouraged more people to get vaccinated.

Some commercial establishments like restaurants no longer allow unvaccinated customers to enter. Some companies are also requiring workers to undergo an RT-PCR test regularly if they are not vaccinated.

Allowing walk-ins at vaccination sites, as well as excusing employees from work, may have also attracted vaccinees, Loreche said.

“We are very proud of our LGUs and the Sugbuanons for rising to the call of getting vaccinated,” Loreche said.

Challenges

In Cebu City, the overwhelming response to the vaccination drive took a toll on the city government’s online portal, the PaBakunaTa.com.

While this was a positive sign of sorts, those at the city’s 90 vaccination sites had to resort to manual registration, which delayed the process. 

Some volunteer doctors also arrived late at the sites and food for volunteers were delivered late, something that Dr. Jeffrey Ibones said will be corrected in the next two days.

Ibones is officer-in-charge of the city’s health department.

“Dili gyud perfect but, at least, ni-function na gyud tanan natong vaccination sites. Mangayo lang pud ta’g dispensa sa atong mga constituents nga naa gyud tay mga glitches gamay but the city government led by Mayor Mike Rama naningkamot gyud nga ma-improve ang pagserbisyo sa mga tawo tomorrow (today),” Ibones said.

“Magpasalamat gyud ta sa atong mga volunteers – doctors, nurses, ug uban pa… I hope nga dili sila mutagam... kahibaw ko dili lalim, kapoy gyud… but this is also a way of service to Cebu City and heed the call of the President... and para sad makuha nato ang herd immunity by the end of the year kay naa na puy ni-form nga new variant,” Ibones said.

LGUs in Cebu Province also experienced delays in vaccination.

Dr. Christina Giango, chief of the Provincial Health Office (PHO), said that while Day 1 was generally successful, some vaccines were not delivered immediately to rural health units.

There were also residents who still chose the brand of vaccine to get.

The province targets to administer 175, 802 doses daily for three days.

In general, Loreche said vaccination sites may have to address the issue of internet connectivity so as not to delay encoding and uploading of data, crowd control, and ventilation and airflow.

She reminded local government units that overcrowding might result to a super spreader event.

Target Doses

In a related development, the National Vaccination Operations Center has lowered the required target doses of vaccines in Central Visayas and the rest of the country due to some unavoidable circumstances.

For Cebu Province, the new three-day target is 317,196 from the original 634,382. For Cebu City, the target is now 67,847 from 96,924. For Mandaue City, the new target is 15,758 from 22,512 and for Lapu-Lapu City, the new target is 20,467 from 29,238. — Le Phyllis F. Antojado, JMO (FREEMAN)