CALOOCAN CITY, April 3 (PIA) -- Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has personally administered the AstraZeneca vaccine shot to the first senior citizen resident in line in San Juan City, 69-year old Rosario Bañal.
“Wala po akong naramdaman, magaan ang kamay ni Sec. Ngayon po okay ako, tumaas lang kanina ng konti ang BP ko sapagkat naglakad lang ako galing sa bahay pero okay na ngayon,” Rosario Bañal said.
She said she decided to get vaccinated because she often goes out since she’s the president of a senior citizen association and said that she will also encourage fellow senior citizens to get vaccinated.
Duque visited San Juan City along with other national and regional government officials to witness the COVID-19 rollout to priority groups.
At least 160 senior citizens have received vaccines made by AstraZeneca, 64 healthcare workers and 43 adults with comorbidity were inoculated with SinoVac-made vaccines, so far.
Since Tuesday, March 30, 300 health workers, 300 senior citizens, and 300 persons with comorbidities were given confirmatory text messages.
However, since only 600-800 individuals on average arrive on the day of their scheduled vaccination, a contingency plan has been set in place to avoid vaccine wastage. A substitution list of people from A1, A2, and A3 prioritization list are on standby who can get the vaccine if and when those on the list fail to show up.
So far, the city has already inoculated a total of 3,400 medical frontliners who belong to the A1 Prioritization Group. They were inoculated with AstraZeneca and SinoVac vaccines. 3,657 health care workers originally registered for the vaccination program but the city government believes the actual number will be higher.
San Juan City currently has 103 vials of AstraZeneca vaccines intended for 1,030 senior citizens and 1,669 doses of SinoVac vaccines, 931 of which are intended as first dose to healthcare workers and adults with comorbidities, while 738 doses are reserved as second dose of the first batch of healthcare workers who got inoculated with the China-made vaccine. DOH will be delivering more vaccines for San Juan today.
Those who fall under persons with comorbidity category will have to send their proof of comorbidity via email to publicinfo@sanjuancity.ph for vetting before they qualify for the vaccine. They may send one of the following: medical certificate issued within 18 months, prescription issue within 6 months, hospital or surgical records as per IATF and DOH guidelines.
Comorbidities include the following: chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, malignancy, diabetes, and obesity. “Yun iba pong comorbidities na hindi kasama dito, sila na po yung susunod,” the mayor explained.
Once they pass the vetting process, they will receive a confirmatory text from San Juan City stating their schedule and site of vaccination. This is to ensure people do not jump the prioritization list and pass themselves up as adults with comorbidities.
This scheduling system aims to prevent walk-ins in the arena and avoid crowding of people. Those who will not receive the confirmatory text from any of the San Juan-verified numbers will not be allowed inside the vaccination center.
The city chose FilOil Flying V Centre as its main vaccination center because it can accommodate up to 4,000 people. It is spacious enough to accommodate a large number of people and not compromise the minimum public health standards set by IATF. The Arena is also air conditioned and well-ventilated which makes it convenient for vaccinees.
Since the vaccine cold storage facility is also being kept in the arena, it is easier for vaccinators to get the vaccine sans the travel time and vaccinate more people in the process.
Mayor Francis Zamora assured residents that the San Juan LGU can vaccinate 100 percent of San Juaneños who register and are deemed qualified and fit to be inoculated.
“Ang ating layunin ay mabakunahan ang majority ng ating mga mamamayan sa mga susunod na linggo at buwan. At eventually, lahat ng magpaparehistro, basta 100 percent deemed fit and healthy ay mababakunahan,” Mayor Francis declared.
As of March 28, 2021, 38,926 residents have registered for the city’s vaccination program. This accounts for 45.58 percent of the total target population of 85,400, which is 70 percent of the total population of San Juan City to achieve herd immunity.
After the IATF inspection, Mayor Zamora went straight to Barangays Batis, San Perfecto, and Pedro Cruz to distribute the city’s 16th wave of ayuda to the constituents since the pandemic hit.
A total of 45,000 food packs will be distributed until April 1, Maundy Thursday. The mayor hopes that these will ease the burden of the lockdown by preventing people from stepping out of their houses and providing them with food. (PIA NCR)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
0 Comments