20 vax sites in Cebu eyed
Project Balik Buhay is targeting to put up 20 vaccination centers for the public rollout of the vaccination program here. | OPAV photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – At least 20 vaccination sites, in anticipation of the public rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, will be launched in Cebu.
This after a public-private partnership under the Project Balik Buhay (PBB) gathered national government agencies and at least 20 private institutions to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in support of the vaccine rollout in Cebu.
A ceremonial MOA signing, led by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), was done on Monday, March 29, at the Visayas COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center at the Oakridge Business Park in Mandaue City.
With this, the PBB is targeting to put up 20 vaccination centers for the rollout of the vaccination program, said PBB chairperson Edmund Liu.
Presidential Assistant to the Visayas Sec. Michael Dino also said some of these vaccinations sites will be housed in malls and hotels while medical institutions will help in providing the manpower support.
“In a day or two, we will be done with the vaccination of our frontliners. So within this week, we may start with our senior citizens and those with co-morbidities,” said Dino.
“At first when the vaccines arrived at the DOH, they were able to inoculate the frontliners already. Of course, they experienced some problems as expected. It wasn’t all smooth sailing but now they know what to do,” he added.
Aside from Cebu, officials are also looking to expand the initiative to the rest of the Visayas, said Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) director Dr. Jaime Bernadas.
Bernadas said in order for the government’s inoculation program to be effective, they have to inoculate at least 70 percent of the healthcare workers here.
“We are in the final leg of our response and this is the vaccination. We have encountered challenges such as misinformation but these vaccines are safe and effective,” said Bernadas.
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