Mayor Evelio Leonardia has instructed the Bacolod Covid-19 Vaccination (CoVac) Council to conduct simulation exercises on Friday as part of the city’s preparations for its vaccination program, when the vaccines arrive.
City Administrator Em Ang, executive director of the Emergency Operations Center, said the simulation activities will be held at the Barangay Villamonte Gym and will test the systems and strategies of the city’s vaccination program, a press release from the city said.
The simulation will include the pickup and transport of vaccines and other supplies from the central cold storage facility to the designated vaccination areas, the actual inoculation, monitoring for at least 30-45 minutes after a person is vaccinated if there are any adverse effects, and disinfection of the venues and subsequent disposal of infectious wastes.
The vaccination simulation will be spearheaded by the City Health Office, in coordination with the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health and Nutrition Division chief, who will supervise the CHO personnel. They will be assisted by the EPI medical and nurse coordinators, barangay health workers, barangay health emergency response teams, health emergency management staff, and health education and promotions officer.
Leonardia created the CoVac Council, through Executive Order No. 83 in December 2020, and it is tasked to plan, supervise, and implement programs and activities related to the city’s Covid-19 vaccination roadmap that should provide Bacolodnons with access to the vaccine at the soonest possible time with the widest and most realistic coverage possible.
The CoVac Council has proposed to utilize five mega vaccination centers and 20 community vaccination centers, including private and public schools. Councilor Renecito Novero is in charge of the Vaccination Centers Action Team.
The vaccination plan also includes other aspects, such as information dissemination in order to encourage more people to get vaccinated, the registration of recipients according to the priority sequence set by the Department of Health, and the creation of vaccination teams and training of vaccinators.
CHO officer-in-charge, Dr. Edwin Miraflor, said that at least 10 teams will be deployed in each vaccination center, with each team composed of one vaccinator, one verifier, one recorder, and one assistant.
The city has programmed P300 million to procure Covid-19 vaccines to ensure that the targeted population per DOH guidelines will be inoculated for free, the press release added.*
