ALTHOUGH Cebu City plans to offer house-to-house vaccination to constituents, Mandaue’s vaccination czar believes it’s not feasible in their city.
Ernie Manatad, Mandaue City’s Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president and the city’s Vaccine Board head, told SunStar Cebu he is concerned if they conduct house-to-house vaccination as it might affect the handling of their vaccine stocks.
On Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, the Cebu City Government conducted a dry run of its house-to-house Covid-19 vaccination, which aims to vaccinate residents who are bedridden.
Manatad told Sunstar Cebu they initially considered having house-to-house Covid-19 vaccination in Mandaue City to cater to those who are not capable of going to vaccination centers.
But Manatad said they decided to scrap the plan after a study revealed that house-to-house vaccinations could affect the handling of vaccines.
He said they are not convinced that house-to-house vaccination is feasible, considering the execution of the vaccination steps in every house as well as the post-monitoring of 15 minutes to 30 minutes.
Manatad said they will continue to offer vaccination at their vaccination sites, especially with more people wanting to get vaccinated.
“So far more and more people are getting interested to be vaccinated. We are now exceeding so much on our target vaccines every day,” he said.
But Manatad said the most doable thing they can do is to launch a mobile vaccination clinic that is closer to residents than the established vaccination sites.
The City launched its mobile vaccination clinic on Thursday, Aug. 5, bringing vaccination closer to residents.
The mobile vaccination clinic was made possible through the City’s partnership with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC).
Manatad said the mobile vaccination clinic was launched in Barangay Paknaan wherein 485 residents were inoculated, including 140 senior citizens, persons with comorbidities and indigents.
The mobile vaccination clinic only operates every Saturday and Sunday as the vaccination team volunteers from PRC are only free on weekends, Manatad said.
On Aug. 14, Manatad said Subangdaku will be the next stop of the mobile vaccination clinic.
The mobile vaccination clinic still prohibits walk-ins. It will only accommodate individuals who registered with the barangay or online.
They also prioritize those who are not capable of going to vaccination sites like individuals who are bedridden or who have difficulty walking.
For residents who are bedridden or have difficulty walking who cannot go to the mobile vaccination clinic, Manatad said the vaccination operation center may provide them with an ambulance to bring them to the mobile vaccination clinic or the vaccination site.
As of Aug. 6, the Project Balik Buhay reported that Mandaue City has administered a total of 160,843 vaccines doses, of which 109,337 are first doses and 51,506 are second doses. (KFD)