Registration is ongoing in every barangay in Bacolod City for members of the community who can be considered as priority sector for the COVID-19 vaccination program, City Administrator Em Ang said yesterday,
Ang, who is also executive director and deputy for administration and operations of the Emergency Operations Center Task Force, said this is in line with the creation of Bacolod City COVID-19 Vaccination Council.
Vaccines from China’s Sinovac are expected to arrive first in Bacolod as part of the supply procured by the national government, she said.
These are expected to arrive in the country by second week of February as stated by vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez.
Ang said that in the new guidelines set by the National Inter-Agency Task Force, those aged 18 to 59 years old will be part of the priority sector ahead of the senior citizens for vaccination program since they are the more exposed group.
They belong to the workforce who plays a vital role in driving the economy back to the normal, she added.
The EOC-TF through the mandate of Mayor Evelio Leonardia has organized different committees to handle the vaccination program.
They have drawn up new staffing patterns and have conducted trainings and seminars, Ang said.
She noted that the creation of COVAC is another logistical challenged for the city because the vaccination teams will be composed of more doctors, nurses, and midwifes qualified to execute vaccination to humans.
“This would entail different staff than that of frontliners attending to positive cases or receiving returning stranded passengers, overseas Filipino workers, and returning overseas Filipinos,” she also said.
Ang said that the formation of the vaccination teams must be timed with the arrival of the supply since the vaccines require limited time to be injected to humans once it is out of a cold chain facility.
The city is expected to allot another amount to purchase the refrigeration equipment and other medical supplies for the vaccinators, she said.
The city government has allotted P300 million for the purchase of vaccines.
Under the contract with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines Inc., Leonardia has secured 650,000 doses for more than 300,000 persons expected to arrive in the second quarter this year.
The city aims to immunize 70 percent of its more than 600,000 total population to achieve herd immunity, Ang said. – MML
