DepEd, PRO-7 personnel to assist 3-day vax drive

CEBU, Philippines —  The Department of Education in Central Visayas has committed to send its medical team to form part of the volunteers for the three-day National COVID-19 Vaccination Days (NVD) dubbed as “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” from November 29 to December 1, 2021.

DepEd-7 Regional Director Salustiano Jimenez told The Freeman that aside from their medical team, they may also allow teaching and non-teaching personnel during the activity with their respective local government unit (LGUs) to ask for it.

Aside from the national vaccination days, DepEd-7 also has activities helping in the info-dissemination campaign on COVID-19 vaccines to their respective communities.

Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office-7 will also augment medical police personnel in support of the said vaccination drive against COVID-19.

PRO-7 director, Police Brigadier General Roque Eduardo Vega, in a statement said they will be deploying their nurses assigned in municipal and city police stations to assist during the vaccination day.

The “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” is a project spearheaded by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) which “targets to inoculate 15 million Filipinos across 16 regions outside Metro Manila.”

According to Vega, he had already directed the provincial and city directors along with its respective health service units in the province to prepare the needed augmentation.

He added they will be deploying three doctors and ten nurses assigned at the Regional Dental and Medical Unit-7; eight nurses from Siquijor Police Provincial Office; four nurses from Negros Oriental PPO and five nurses from Bohol PPO.

Each augmented medical police personnel will stand as their own vaccination team.

In the same statement, Vega encouraged the public to take advantage of the nationwide vaccination drive of the government.

To extend their further support, Vega also said they will be offering free rides that will be available in the nearest police stations in their respective areas.

“Sa mga hindi pa po nagpabakuna, samantalahin nyo po itong ‘Ba[ranga]yanihan, Bakunahan’ ng gobyerno. Andito ang inyong kapulisan nakaantabay at naka-alalay sa ating mga kababayan. Mayroong tayong ‘PNP Libreng Sakay’ para sa mga kababayan natin na walang masakyan,” said Vega.

“Ang mga sasakyan mula sa mga police stations ay nandiyan para ihatid kayo sa inyong pupuntahan na vaccination site,” he added.

Currently, out of 11, 296 total police personnel of the PRO-7, at least 9,673 of them or 85.63 percent are fully vaccinated while the remaining 222 are yet to be vaccinated.

The DILG continues its call for volunteers to support and assist all LGUs in the three-day vaccination.

“This is the most ambitious vaccination undertaking in the country to date, and we need many volunteers, especially those with medical backgrounds, to assist in the more than 12,000 vaccination sites nationwide. We, therefore, urge everyone to become heroes not only by getting vaccinated but also by volunteering their services during the three-day vaccination drive,” said DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año.

Año said state or private colleges and universities, especially those that are offering medical and nursing courses, should mobilize doctors, nurses, and nursing students to assist LGUs during the NVD.

The LGUs, for their part, are already mobilizing barangay officials and barangay-based institutions to bring people to the more than 12,000 proposed vaccination sites.

Among the volunteers needed for the NVD vaccination teams are medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, midwives, first responders, paramedics, other health professionals, teachers, and professors. They will be assigned as health screeners, vaccinators, post vaccination monitors, or health educators.

For the NVD management team, volunteers needed are data professionals, teachers, and school personnel, accountants, students, government employees, Sangguniang Kabataan, or any willing and trained data personnel and volunteers. They will be assigned as encoders or talliers or data consolidators.

“Bukod sa ating mga LGUs, napakalaki po ng parte ng bawat mamamayan sa paparating na ‘Bayanihan, Bakunahan’. Kaya naman, inaanyayahan po namin ang lahat na makiisa at mag-volunteer. Let us live out the spirit of bayanihan and defeat the pandemic,” added Año.

Volunteers can sign up through the National Volunteer Registration portal at https://vaccineph.retool.com/embedded/public/a27bbe57-4f05-4a3a-a5af-5dc6a19d31b9

LGUs are also expected to ensure that the enlistment of volunteers thru the National Vaccination Volunteer Registration (NVVR) is properly managed by assigning a point person who will coordinate and communicate with the volunteers, and a data manager to download the list of volunteers with their contact details from the Vaccination Operations Reporting System (VORS).

In a Memorandum Circular, Año also urged LGUs to expand the number of vaccination sites to include schools, malls, cinemas, restaurants, and other public places. He also said LGUs should see to it that all vaccines that shall be used in the NVD are ready and will be properly distributed to the vaccination sites. — Iris Hazel M. Mascardo, GMR (FREEMAN)