Pasig City training 250 vaccinators

Published January 12, 2021 05:48 PM By TINA PANGANIBAN-PEREZ,GMA News

The Pasig City government is already training 250 vaccinators to inoculate Pasigueños against COVID-19 when the vaccines finally arrive, Mayor Vico Sotto said Tuesday.

“Ongoing po ang paghahanda natin para sa simulation ng COVID vaccine program natin. We’re actually training already our vaccinators. We have 250 vaccinators that are being trained: 150 from the government and then 100 from our private hospitals. So ito’y talagang magiging giant team effort from the national government, the local government and the private sector,” Sotto told GMA News.

In a Facebook post last week,

Sotto said that Pasig City will be the first LGU to implement the Department of Health's COVID-19 vaccination system.

"As soon as vaccines arrive, we'll be ready," he said in the post, though he also acknowledged that it is still uncertain when the first vaccines will arrive.

In Monday's hearing on COVID-19 vaccines at the Senate, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III identified Pasig City as one of the LGUs that will be conducting a simulation of the DOH's vaccination program.

Sotto said they have already identified vaccination sites but declined to identify these as the list is still being finalized.

During the simulation, the participants will be medical frontliners, who are on top of the government’s priority list for vaccination.

“Tinitingnan lang natin kung okay na yung sistema natin, again from logistics to human resources to the actual way that we will go, 'yung pagdala natin ng bakuna, pagbakuna mismo sa mga centers natin," Sotto said.

"Pagdating sa vaccination program natin, ang health care frontliners po talaga ang mauuna. So right now, we’re mobilizing, finalizing our list. Again, this includes the private sector, private hospitals," he added.

Sotto considers inoculating Pasigueños against COVID-19 his biggest challenge at the moment.

“Ang pangunahing challenge natin sa ngayon ay 'yung paghahanda para sa vaccination program. Again, we’re working very closely with the Deaprtment of Health. Nakikipag-ugnayan tayo pati sa mga private sector, private hospitals. This will be a huge task for the local government and the national government but what’s important is that we start preparing right now,” he said.

As of Monday, Pasig City has 9,950 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 180 active ones. It counts 9,375 recoveries and 395 deaths.  — BM, GMA News

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