New vaccination site in the University of Cebu along J. Alcantara Street, Barangay Sambag I. | Photo courtesy of Councilor David Tumulak
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City will be opening three additional vaccination sites for the expected resumption of the rollout with the arrival of more vaccines.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama said in a press conference on May 13, 2021, that two sites would be opened in the mountain barangays for the North and South districts.
These sites will be manned by private partners of the city government with All-Terrain Medical Relief Organization (AMRO) in the northern site and the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (ERUF) in southern site.
“This will be for all (mountain barangay residents), but we will still follow the vaccination priority list,” said Rama.
The vice mayor has assigned Councilors Franklyn Ong and Jerry Guardo to monitor the site in the north, and Councilors David Tumulak and Philip Zafra to monitor the site in the south.
The city hopes to open both sites soon because Rama said the residents in the mountain barangays find it difficult to travel to the urban areas to get vaccinated.
He said that bringing the vaccination to them would ensure that the residents in the 31 mountain barangays would get vaccinated relatively as fast as those living in the urban areas.
Doctor Jeffrey Ibones, officer-in-charge of the City Health Department (CHD), said the mountain barangays’ sites would be operational only on weekends to utilize the manpower of the existing vaccination sites in the urban areas.
In this way, there will be no shortage of manpower to man the sites.
“So on weekdays magvaccine ta diri sa ubos, then if weekend, sila na pud didto sa bukid (it will be their turn their on the mountains),” said Ibones.
Meanwhile, another vaccine site will open in the urban center of the city at the University of Cebu (UC) Senior High School Building along J. Alcantara Street in Barangay Sambag I.
Councilor David Tumulak said that the site would be ready to be operational when the rollout would resume, and it would cater to central barangays like Sambag 1 and 2, Calamba, Labangon, Pahina, Pasil, Kalubihan, among others.
Tumulak said the site was strategic because it was close to at least four hospitals, and if any problem would occur, the vaccinated individuals could be brought to the hospitals immediately.
This new site is the fourth vaccination site of the city in the urban areas, which is operational on weekdays. The others include Robinsons Galleria, UC Banilad, and SM Seaside.
Ibones said that the sites would cater at least 800 individuals per day, or a total of 3,200 vaccinated individuals per day in all four sites.
This is of course subject to the number of available doses that will be distributed.
Ibones said he hoped that the roll-out would continue by Monday, 17, 2021.
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