Senior citizens in Cebu City urged to register for vaccination now

Vaccination in Cebu City. | Delta Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government is urging senior citizens in the city to register for the vaccination program now while the city waits for more doses of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.

The Cebu City government has released the link for the registration on their Facebook page for those who have yet to be registered for the vaccination program.

Although the vaccine doses from the national government allocation have stopped coming due to the lack of vaccines, the city government is continuously profiling beneficiaries of the program.

The inoculation of the vaccines to the health workers has stopped for now due to the lack of doses, with at least 2,000 health workers yet to be vaccinated.

However, since the city government is planning to procure P100 million to P200 million worth of vaccines that should be delivered by the third quarter of the year, the City Health Department (CHD) said they will not stop the profiling.

“Ang atong mayor ug atong City Council naninguha na sila nga makapalit na ta pero dili lang kay sa Pilipinas ra, sa tibuok kalibutan nagkuwang gyod ang atong vaccines. Mao na magpaabot ta,” said Doctor Jeffrey Ibones, the CHD officer-in-charge.

(Our mayor and the city council are doing their best to purchase vaccines but it’s not just in the Philippines but in the whole world that there’s a lack of vaccines. That’s why we just wait.)

The waiting may take time, but Ibones said the city and its residents can continue to prepare for the vaccines’ arrival through registration. The delay of the vaccines should not discourage the public from registering because the this preparation is crucial in the inevitable distribution of the doses.

House to house

The registration is also convenient for those who are able to access the online registration website as all information can be inputted with immediate submission.

For the senior citizens who do not know how to regsiter online, does not have a smartphone or computer or doesn’t have access to such, or does not have enough signal, they can call on their respective barangays and they will be registered house-to-house.

Ibones said that the senior citizens must not be discouraged with the reports that there are no more vaccines for now and that their inoculation stands on a limbo.

He said the city government is already negotiating with the Covovax laboratory in India for doses and there is a sure allocation for them in this city-procured vaccines.

For now, while waiting for the vaccines the best help they can give to the city is get registered. They must also remain vigilant while they remain unvaccinated so that when vaccination comes, they will be in good health condition to receive the shots.

Ibones also hopes that the senior citizens and essential workers will register ahead of time because the number of doses that will be allocated to the city will be based on this list.

Even if they are unsure about being vaccinated, a registration guarantees them a dose when it is available should they change their mind.

Read: Nearly 9K senior citizens ready for COVID vaccine in Mandaue

/bmjo