ILOILO – Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. ordered a series of “time and motion” coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination dry runs in five municipalities this month.
The first one is today in the municipality of Oton. One hundred health workers trained by the Department of Health (DOH) are expected to join.
Participants are actually getting pneumonia vaccines, according to Provincial Administrator Suzette Mamon.
“The very principle of our simulation is kon paano i-handle kag i-operationalize ang COVID-19 vaccination. May actual vaccination mismo against pneumonia nga gin-request sa DOH,” she added.
The other COVID-19 vaccination simulations are in the towns of Zarraga (Feb. 22), Badiangan (Feb. 23), Dueñas (Feb. 24), and Concepcion (Feb. 26.)
According to Governor Defensor, health authorities will specifically assess how long it will take to inoculate individuals and other aspects of the vaccination process such as the arrival of vaccines, storage facility and waiting period for adverse effects.
Iloilo province is the first local government unit in Western Visayas and among the earliest in the country to secure approval from the DOH for its COVID-19 vaccination plan.
Defensor submitted the COVAC PLAN 21-22 to the DOH on Feb. 4.
The governor then issued Executive Order No. 036, series of 2021, adopting the COVAC PLAN 21-22 of the province.
The 51-page master plan synchronizes the vaccine deployment and vaccination plan of the province with the national government’s framework.
It aims to ensure that all eligible citizens in the province will have free, effective, safe and high-quality vaccines against COVID-19.
In early December, the province placed an order for 270,000 doses of AZD1222 Vaccine from AztraZeneca. An initial budget of P95 million was allotted.
The COVAC PLAN will be implemented in three phases./PN
