The City of Manila has recently created the Manila COVID-19 Vaccine Action Center in preparation for the coming free vaccination of about a million Manila residents, workers and visitors starting this month.
The MCVAC aims to help in the registration of people planning to have the vaccination against COVID-19, handle inquiries about the vaccine and do reporting and referral of AEFI (adverse events
following immunization), according to a presentation entitled “Manila COVID-19 Vaccination Plan” shown by Acting City Health Officer Arnold M. Pangan, MD, RSW, to the Manila Health Department employees at city hall.
Pangan says the public is encouraged to contact the MCVAC via cellphone numbers 0927-351-0849; 0915-703-0621; 0968-572-1975; or 0961-020-2655 for inquiries about the COVID-19 vaccination program.
On the other hand, the Manila Health Department, the lead department handling the COVID-19 vaccination program of the city, is preparing an information campaign to encourage vaccination. The MHD is also handling the creation of the master list of priority groups through the registration of individuals.
On December 31, 2020, the city government, led by Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, launched the Manila Vaccination and Immunization app. The app can be accessed via the website https://manilacovid19vaccine.com/ where individuals can register for their free vaccination in the city.
There are currently 13,552 pre-registered “frontline health workers” in Manila consisting of employees from the MHD central office in the Manila City Hall; employees from the six LGU hospitals in Manila; private hospitals in the city; and private clinics in the city.
There are also 157,679 senior citizens from 896 barangays in Manila.
Currently, there are also 500,351 indigents: 9,878 persons with disability and 490,473 indigents listed by the Manila Social Welfare and Development.
Manila also has 4,879 “uniformed personnel” consisting of the Manila Police District, 4,100; Bureau of Fire Protection, 440 and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, 339.
The MHD, so far, has a total of 676,461 individuals in its COVID-19 Vaccination Master list consisting of frontline health workers (13,552); senior citizens (157,679); indigents (500,351); and uniformed personnel (4,879).
There are 18 vaccination sites located in public schools, with three teams per site, in all the six districts. The target is to inoculate 1,000 individuals per day, with a daily target of 18,000 citywide, or 126,000 total in seven days.
Per site, the vaccination team will be composed of one supervisor and three physicians who will conduct screening and medical emergency when needed; four nurses who will be vaccinators and do surveillance; three dentists who will be counselors and encoders; one midwife for monitoring; one HEPO (Health Education and Promotion Officer); five Barangay Health Workers who will be vaccinators, do surveillance and encoders; one logistics officer for vaccine delivery and retrieval; six support staff (security, crowd control, driver, sanitation and maintenance); for a total of 25.
With regard to the flow of the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccines, from the Department of Health or the Vaccine Supplier, these will be delivered by the MHD vehicles to the Sta. Ana Hospital Manila COVID-19 Vaccine Storage Facility. From the facility, the vaccines will then be delivered to the 18 vaccination sites when needed.