Making the most of it

The time is 7:38 in the morning on this bright first day of June and my wife and I are seated along with 67 early birds waiting to be vaccinated either for the first or the second dose of Sinovac at the Medical City hospital. Everything continues to be organized as they were three weeks ago when we had our first dose, at least on the part of the staff of Medical City.

On the other hand, the representatives and organizers from Pasig City seem to be running late or are running on the clock like many government employees worldwide tend to do. To be fair, the SMS message from City Hall did specify: “To avoid long lines go only on your designated schedule,” therefore they are not officially late in spite of the fact that everyone else is early. This leads me to suggest that for better organization, LGUs might want to consider being more specific and driven by time & motion regarding schedules. Perhaps spreading people around on an hour- or time-based appointment will help manage people and process better. JUST a suggestion.

The only “hitch” that I encountered in the first round and once again this morning was the “Informed Consent” form that we all had to fill up which, to start with, was a mix of Tagalog and fine print English that required a magnifying glass to read. If there’s any kindhearted member of Congress out there reading this article PLEASE file a bill requiring a minimum font size of 12 for any official document or for products that involve senior citizens and persons with vision disability. How can you properly answer or execute something you can’t read! The first time I answered the form, the nurse told me that I did it all wrong when I answered “No” to ailments or diseases that I did not have. You have to download the Pasig form yourself to figure out how the dual language form for medical history can be confusing.

This time I approached someone from the hospital for assistance and the lady suggested that we simply wait for the nurse or nursing aide to help us out because even they found the form confusing and that it should have been written in plain English for everyone to understand. This, of course, is no surprise once a native speaker gets into the act of writing or translating technical or medical terms. I have lived in Lipa, Batangas long enough to know that even there they have “native” terms I myself never heard before. 7:56 and the count of people waiting to be vaccinated are over 100 already.

Scanning the lobby that was not meant to be a mass vaccination center, I now realize why some of our government officials are pushing hard for the construction of mega vaccination sites. At only a hundred-plus people, we are effectively sitting four persons in 1.2 square meters. Aside from finding a more ideal location within hospitals, I’m certain that things would not be piling up if everything started earlier. We have become so fixated with clock watching, especially in the national and local governments, that we fail to see certain advantages in working outside the box or outside the clock. If many people are willing to get up very early in the morning to avoid long lines and hot summer days, those in government should likewise make the necessary adjustments for everyone’s benefit.

It would also help immensely if health officials and staff as well as local security were around to enforce health protocols such as social distancing and “alalays” and “yayas” adding to the crowd. LGUs might be of the opinion that if they hired, paid or turned over such programs to a facility or service provider, the burden automatically falls on the provider. That is a fatal mistake that I’m sure became the regret of many. Any discomfort, inconvenience or delay that happens will still reflect on the LGU or the national government, so it’s still better to be present than to be absent.

Like clockwork, the Pasig Team was at the scene by 8 a.m. and announced that they would soon be starting. 8:12 and they have started calling for the first five just like in the PBA! I got number 54 and as I write this article on the go, my wife and I are “guestimating” if we’ll be done in an hour. Probably not but hope springs eternal. At 8:18 they are only calling out #17, all of whom will undergo the screening and interview even before they get to see the face of their nurse.

True enough, at 8:49 we were called for purposes of reviewing the form and by 8:59 a nurse was checking my vital signs and reviewing my medical history and reaction to the first dose. By 9:03 I was seated for my second dose and was all done in three minutes flat. Once again we wrapped it all up in one hour and a half, including the mandatory 30-minute observation for adverse reactions.

At this point, I sincerely want to express my gratitude to the good Lord above that my wife and I have gone this far covered by his protection, especially from COVID-19. He has graciously protected our daughter Hannah who, in spite of one actual infection and another near hit, has remained asymptomatic in Holland. These past few weeks our prayers have been for her to be vaccinated due to her comorbidity involving asthma. This situation highlights the fact that we should be, and are, equally grateful to the national government and to the city of Pasig that has made it possible for senior citizens such as us to be vaccinated. Wrinkles and all, things still get done in the Philippines! Thank You!

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