Cebu City Prepares for its Vaccination Program

For nearly a year, the Philippines has been battling the pandemic with mandatory protocols such as social distancing, wearing of face masks and face shields, and contact tracing. Now, the country looks to COVID-19 vaccines to strengthen its fight against the virus. In Cebu City, Moderna and Pfizer were tapped as providers of COVID-19 vaccines. A budget of PhP500 million was allocated for the purchase of the doses, although COVID-19 vaccines in Cebu have yet to arrive.

While waiting for the vaccine, the Cebu City Government doubles its efforts through extensive preparation. If you want to learn more about the status of COVID-19 vaccines in Cebu and the city’s vaccination program and readiness, read on!

Although Cebu has been stable for some time, inevitable movements caused another rise of COVID-19 cases in the metro. With that, the government understands that its vaccination plans need to be administered on time. The head of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Cebu City Council, and Visayas Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 discussed how the vaccination program will be conducted in Cebu City.

Here are the initial plans for the vaccination program:

• The city government will identify strategic locations that will be used for vaccination. These areas should be able to accommodate 7,000 people per day. Based on these needs, sports complexes in different barangays are seen as the suitable vaccination sites.

• Each vaccination site should also have storage facilities.

• The city aims to vaccinate at least 700,000 residents within ten months to reach herd immunity.

• The city plans to prioritize frontliners with a separate vaccination program. These frontliners will not be vaccinated in common vaccination sites.

Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said that under the national government’s plan, senior citizens and indigents will also be prioritized during the first vaccination rollout. He also mentioned that the vaccines procured by the national government will arrive in Metro Cebu by the third or fourth week of February.

However, Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera said the city will also vaccinate the working class in the economic sector first. Garganera added that the city will be giving ample training to barangay health workers before the massive vaccination program begins.

Go to Yoorekka for more COVID-19 vaccine news and health updates in Cebu.