ILOILO – This province could be the first local government unit (LGU) in Western Visayas to have an approved operational plan for the rollout of its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program.
Yesterday, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. submitted Iloilo’s COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment and Immunization Plan 2021-2022 or COVAC PLAN 21-22 to the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Interior and Local Government and the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force.
“This is a complete plan. May activity and may timeline kon when matabo,” Defensor earlier said.
Developed in mid-January, the 51-page master plan will be scrutinized by the concerned agencies, according to Dr. Jane Juanico, head of the Infectious Disease Section of DOH Region 6.
She confirmed to Panay News that Iloilo province was so far the only LGU to publish and submit a vaccination scheme.
As to other provinces and highly-urbanized cities in the region, Juanico said planning is ongoing, though they have submitted digital copies of their micro COVID Plan.
While there’s no deadline for the submission, Juanico encouraged LGUs to craft their vaccination plans sooner to give health officials ample time to review them before the arrival of vaccines in the second quarter of 2021.
WHAT’S INSIDE COVAC PLAN 21-22?
Defensor issued Executive Order No. 036, series of 2021, adopting the COVAC PLAN 21-22 of the province.
It will synchronize the vaccine deployment and vaccination plan of the province with the direction and objectives of the national government.
COVAC PLAN 21-22 aims to ensure that all eligible citizens in the province will have free, effective, safe and high-quality vaccines against COVID-19.
The plan fleshes out these major components:
* planning and coordination
* financing and funding mechanisms
* identification of eligible population
* vaccination procurement and delivery strategies
* cold chain, supply and health care waste management
* human resource management and training
* acceptance and uptake
* vaccine immunization safety monitoring, AEFI/AESI, and post marketing surveillance and management, and pharmacovigilance
* immunization, registration, monitoring and data management systems
Defensor said some of these components have been implemented already such as the signing of a tripartite agreement with British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and the national government for COVID-19 vaccines; identification of vaccination sites; registration of eligible population; and preparation of cold storage facilities.
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.
Phase 1 includes the administration of initial doses of the vaccine on a limited basis, with the prioritization of the initial populations of focus.
To be prioritized are healthcare workers such as those in capitol-run health facilities, local government unit contact tracers, barangay workers including members of the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams, barangay nutrition scholars, and barangay tanods, among others.
Apart from frontliners, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities would also be the first to be vaccinated.
Phase 2 covers the expansion of the vaccination services to a larger population upon the availability of larger quantities of vaccine.
The third phase is making the vaccine widely available and integrating it into routine vaccination programs, run by both public and private partners.
The COVAC PLAN also identifies specific priorities and activities that will be undertaken by concerned Capitol offices in coordination with the DOH and other concerned agencies./PN
