San Juan prepares for Covid-19 vaccination

San Juan City concluded a two-day simulation of its vaccination campaign, according to a report by Philippine News Agency.

Mayor Francis Zamora said the dry run is part of the city government's preparation for the National Immunization Program on Covid-19.

"As early as now, we are preparing all the groundwork so that when the vaccines arrive, we will be ready to proceed with the vaccination process smoothly," he said.

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Zamora said the city government, in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH), has also started the training of the healthcare workers who will facilitate the city-wide vaccination program.

The city government has earlier signed a tripartite agreement with the national government and British-Swedish biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to acquire an initial 100,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

Zamora said it is enough to inoculate 50,000 residents while other vaccines will be shouldered by the national government.

The San Juan gymnasium will serve as the city's main vaccination center.

"We chose this venue because it’s well-ventilated and big enough to accommodate hundreds of San Juaneños who already signed up to get the Covid-19 vaccine," he said.

Zamora said the city government will also set up other vaccination sites located in the key public areas and health centers, depending on the number of residents who will volunteer for the inoculation program.

The mayor reported that during the simulation activity, it will take less than 20 minutes for a single person to go through all the needed processes to get inoculated.

These processes include registration, counseling and final consent, final screening, and the actual inoculation.

After being vaccinated, the person will be held for a one-hour observation.

Zamora volunteered to get the first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine, once AstraZeneca shots arrive in the city.

“I will be the first to get the vaccine to increase the level of confidence of our constituents in the vaccine and more of them will trust the vaccine. I will really be an ambassador for the vaccination process here in San Juan,” he said.

Zamora said the city government is targeting at least 70 percent of the city's population to volunteer for the inoculation program.

The city government has allocated a PHP50-million budget for the procurement of the vaccines.