THE LOCAL government continues to hold a series of information sessions with stakeholders as part of the ongoing preparations for the Covid vaccination.
The sessions seek to boost the government efforts to ensure the efficient and effective implementation of the national vaccination program by providing accurate information and providing answers to questions, concerns, and issues raised by different sectors here.
Separate information sessions were held for Barangay Information Officers Network, barangay health workers, members of the local media, the religious sector and the Sanguniang Kabataan and youth leaders.
Mayor Beng Climaco also emphasized the importance of awareness and correct information dissemination about the Covid vaccine.
Held both online and face-to-face sessions, the information series cover all aspects of the vaccination program with speakers from the City Health Office and the Department of Health. There will also be sessions for civil society organizations, barangay chairpersons and senior citizens, among others.
The mayor has assured the public that the local government will only use vaccines that are proven safe and effective against the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease.
Climaco, head of the local task force on Covid response, said the City Health Office in coordination with the Department of Health, is now preparing plans for the implementation of the mass vaccination program.
She said the preparation plans include the master list of target individuals to take the first batch of the inoculation, the operation center, storage facilities and the vaccination action plan and information campaign to make people aware of the health benefits and protection they will get from the Covid vaccines.
The local government’s vaccination program, Climaco said, will prioritize healthcare workers, essential and other frontline service providers, and vulnerable populations such as the elderly and poor.
The CHO is also setting up mechanisms for the proper storage of 410,000 doses of vaccines, according to the mayor, who recently signed a $2 million (or roughly P100 million) deal with the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
The agreement with AstraZeneca is based on the approved authorization of the City Council. The local government’s vaccination program will cover 694,696 residents or 70% of the projected 2021 population of 992,423 inhabitants.
The initial P200 million for the purchase of the vaccines are included in the P4.38-billion 2021 Executive Budget of the local government, according to Climaco, who is also a member of the Committee on Vaccine Availment of the League of Cities of the Philippines.
Climaco said the local government will allocate P100 million more for additional Covid vaccines following talks with US-based Johnson & Johnson. She also thanked Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte for including Zamboanga in the talks.
“The City Government will use the remaining P100 million for other vaccine brands as we just recently met with US-based Johnson & Johnson among others. Again, thank you to Mayor Sara Duterte for inviting Zamboanga City in her discussions with Janssen,” she said.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have also their own Covid vaccines and so are Russia with its Sputnik and China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm. (Zamboanga Post)
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