Cities in Visayas prepare for vaccine rollout

ILOILO CITY — Even if the delivery date of COVID-19 vaccines remains unsure, the city government on Thursday conducted a simulation of mass vaccination to prepare for the campaign.

Around 500 volunteers, composed of city employees and residents, joined the exercise at the covered gymnasium of Central Philippine University in Jaro District.

At least 115 midwives and nurses acted as vaccinators, giving 100 volunteers real flu shots.

Mayor Jerry Treñas said the exercise was meant to collect data on the number of people and the time it took to administer the vaccine so they could anticipate problems during the actual drive.

He said it was important to determine the average time to vaccinate a person to better organize the transport of residents from villages to inoculation centers.

The city government has allotted P200 million for the purchase of vaccines and cover around 300,000 residents and 100,000 nonresidents working in the city. The city has also acquired freezers which can also be used for vaccines intended for Western Visayas.

In Cebu City, Councilor Dave Tumulak urged the city government to secure its own cold storage facilities in preparation for the delivery of vaccines. Mayor Edgardo Labella said the vaccines that the local government would buy was on top of the supply allocated by the national government for the city. —REPORTS FROM NESTOR P. BURGOS JR. AND ADOR VINCENT MAYOL