Barangays have prepared priority list of COVID-19 vaccine recipients, DILG exec says

All barangay governments have prepared a list of residents who will be prioritized to receive COVID-19 vaccines, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño said on Sunday.

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, Diño said the local governments will wait for the instruction of the national and city governments about the vaccination.

“Ngayon, lahat ng mga barangay, lalong-lalo na dito sa Metro Manila, ay nakahanda naman kami diyan pati 'yung mga listahan ng uunahin na i-injection-an,” he said.

“Kami lang ang nakakaalam niyan. Barangay lang ang may listahan kung sino ang senior citizen, sino ang mga single parent, at of course, sino man ‘yung uunahin nating beneficiary,” the DILG official added.

According to Diño, the vaccination will prioritize frontliners and senior citizens, as advised by the national government.

“Sa barangay, uunahin natin, siyempre, magmula doon sa mga barangay tanod, barangay health worker, basta lahat ng nagtatrabaho dyan,” he said.

“Kasunod niyan mga senior citizen, pagkatapos kung ano na ang direktiba ng aming city at national (government),” he added.

Aside from this, Diño said barangay governments are also preparing for the other logistics concerns of the vaccination events such as the facilities and equipment that will be used.

“Kamukha ng nangyayari sa atin sa Social Amelioration Program, naghanda ang barangay kung saan 'yung area  na ipapamimigay (ang bakuna),” he said.

“Kahit na walang direct participation ang barangay diyan, kami ay naghanda ng covered court para maglagay ng lamesa at upuan at saka masunod ang social distancing,” the DILG official added.

Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) can also help in the vaccination program, according to Diño.

In a separate interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) COVID Command Center head Michael Salalima his team will help in the rollout of the vaccination.

Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said the vaccination against COVID-19 in the country may start by February as some vaccines are expected to arrive during the period.

In line with this, Galvez said more or less 25,000 people are undergoing training to administer COVID-19 vaccines to Filipinos.

The Philippine government targets to vaccinate some 50 to 70 million Filipinos against COVID-19 this year. —KG/BM, GMA News