CEBU CITY, Philippines — The vaccination process in Cebu City will take approximately 1 hour and ten minutes on an ordinary day.
CDN Digital has followed a vaccinee through the process from getting a text message to the inoculation of the vaccine in SM Seaside at the South Road Properties (SRP) on May 5, 2021, the start of the distribution to the A3 priority group composed of individuals with comorbidities.
It must be noted that there are two ways to get registered for the vaccines: through the online registration form in this website, https://vims.cebucity.gov.ph/page/register ; or through asking assistance from the barangays.
A vaccinee scheduled to get the vaccination the next day will get a message from the number, 0917-314-7941, which is the official number used by the city’s Vaccination Operations Center (VOC) to contact the registrants.
A legitimate schedule will be composed of the following content and message with the variations depending on the vaccinee’s address:
COMPLETE NAME
Good day! You are scheduled for
What: VACCINATION
Where: SM Seaside/Robinsons Galleria/UC Banilad
When: month/date/year
Time: 8 AM – 12 PM / 12 PM – 4 PM
This message is an assurance that a vaccine is waiting for the individual in the selected site as the VOC has pre-calculated the number of individuals to be vaccinated in the day.
Depending on the number of vaccines available, the three sites will also accept walk-ins as the VOC aims to vaccinate as many persons as possible.
Getting registered will make the process easier and faster because, without online registration, the site personnel will have to register the vaccinee from scratch.
Getting of priority number. 4 min
Upon arriving at the vaccination site, the first place to go is the area where they distribute the priority numbers. This is the first step where the site personnel will take your basic information and prepare you for the orientation.
This step takes at least 4 minutes if the site is not operating at full capacity upon one’s arrival.
After getting a priority number, the vaccinee will stay at the orientation or waiting area where he/she will be given a five-sheet document that needs to be filled up with the individual’s own ballpen. Borrowing of pens is discouraged.
Orientation. 13 min
Name, address, age, pre-existing diseases or illnesses, and a signature will be taken in this step, which takes approximately 8 minutes mostly due to the waiting.
The registration is the next step and if one is already registered online, this will be a fast step at around 4 minutes top, but if the registrant is not registered online, this may take time as the personnel will have to input all the information right then and there.
Registration. 8 min
The vital signs station is another section where waiting may cause more time than the actual check-up since this station may take time. The individuals are subjected to vital signs tests like blood pressure reading, temperature checks, and oxygen level checks.
This is where individuals will be determined if they are physically capable of handling the vaccine shot.
Taking of vital signs. 4 min
People with comorbidities will find it faster to just get a medical certificate to present in this station so that even if their vital signs are not normal due to pre-existing conditions, there will be a medical note that allows them to go through the vaccination.
After four to five minutes at the vital signs desk, the counseling will take up around the same time depending on the mindset of the individual.
Counseling. 4 min
Doctors and nurses are ready to explain the risks and benefits of getting the vaccines especially the possible side effects. Medical professionals in this station told CDN Digital that sometimes they take a lot of time answering questions from vaccinees and ensuring that they are calm before getting the shot.
Finally, getting inoculated is also 4 minutes top depending on the number of people waiting to get their shot. The shot itself takes less than a minute but the waiting and preparation may stretch up to four minutes.
The shot is quick and almost painless. The injected area will be covered in a band-aid and the newly vaccinated individuals are encouraged to keep the band-aid until they get home.
Inoculation. 4 min
The monitoring takes up most of the time in the vaccination process. Every vaccinated individual need to be monitored for at least 30 minutes for allergic reactions, increased heart rate, and blood pressure, or any adverse effects.
All vaccinees will get a tag on what time they received the vaccine and when they can leave the monitoring areas.
Monitoring. 30 min
After one last assessment by doctors and nurses, the newly vaccinated individual can then go home. A card containing all information about the vaccination will be provided and this will be presented on the second dose of the vaccine.
Cebu City Health officer-in-charge, Doctor Jeffrey Ibones, said the time usually goes down to only 40 minutes for the entire vaccination process if the sites only have a few vaccinees.
Naturally, more time will be needed if many individuals availed of the vaccine that day because the waiting time will be longer.
Ibones said this is why malls are the best options for a site because it is comfortable for individuals to wait in.
“Magparegister na ta kay ang best vaccine mao ang vaccine nga available karon,” he said. /rcg