Cebu mayors raise concerns on prioritization for vaccination
The Vaccination Plan for the Visayas manual. | Delta Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Some Cebu Province mayors express concern on how the vaccination prioritization will be implemented with respect to the available doses especially on the quick-substitution list.
The mayors raised this concern during the turn over of the Vaccination Plan for the Visayas manual as they said their residents are asking on who will replace those in the priority list but refused to get vaccinated.
Doctor Jaime Bernadas, the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) head, said that the quick substitution list is an “ofshoot” of planning that will still be based in the prioritization list.
“If you schedule the priority A1 to A3 (health workers, senior citizens, and people with comorbidities), the quick substitution list must be in the succeeding priority group. Pero, it’s easier said than done. There really is a problem in the implementation, where to get the quick substitution list, but we are told to prepare a list that could at least fill in for the schedule of the day,” said Bernadas.
The rationale of the quick substitution list is for the LGU to immediately fill in the slots for vaccine doses should some of those scheduled to get the shot refuse to be vaccinated, deferred to another schedule or time, and those deemed unqualified for the dose.
Bernadas said there is no hard and fast rules on the quick substitution list and the LGUs are given the prerogative to form this as long as those in the list come from the next priority group.
Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas also raised the concern on how the business establishments under the Project Balik Buhay (PBB) will be prioritized.
Edmun Liu, the chairperson of the PBB, said that even if the PBB will
e registering employees of private establishments for the prioritization of the vaccination roll-out, they will still follow the general prioritization groups based on the IATF guidelines.
“Sa DOH template, naa man silay priority code ibutang. Kung moingon ang DOH nga pwede na ang A2, kato ra pung A2 ang mabakunahan Dili pwede mag-una ang PBB, magsunod gyod sa LGU,” said Liu.
The DOH will mandate which priority group may already be activated for the vaccination and the PBB’s prioritization list will also follow this way.
Bernadas said some doses will be provided to PBB for distribution to the establishments that have registered their employees. The list will be forwarded to the respective LGUs as well to avoid duplicacy in the vaccinees.
He said that the PBB must submit their master list because the allocated doses to them will be subtracted from the LGU allocation from where the establishment is located.
This way, the business sector can already begin to vaccinate their frontline employees allowing more residents to be vaccinated per LGU.
“In other words, an allocation will be given to Project Balik Buhay, then they give us the list to be given to the LGUs as a report so these will be accounted for sa locality,” said Bernadas.
The regional director told the mayors there is no apparent problem in the roll-out as of now with regards to the prioritization because the roll-out is specific to groups such as health workers, senior citizens, frontline workers, and people with comorbidities.
These LGUs have a list for these groups especially for the health workers and senior citizens.
He expects the problem to occur when the vaccination moves to the common people as this is where the prioritization may become confusing.
This is why the IATF Visayas has already set up a manual for LGUs to follow to prepare for these mass roll-outs in the next months.
Bernadas encouraged the chief executives to follow the manual turned over to them on April 14, 2021, so they can begin to set up their Vaccination Operation Centers (VOCs) and fine-tune the city’s priority list. /rcg
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