Ilocos Norte state university to vaccinate 1,000 employees

Dr. Gretchen Ranada, COVID-19 vaccination team leader of the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC), leads the coaching and orientation of the personnel of Mariano Marcos State University who will administer the vaccination of at least 1,000 employees of the state university starting June 17. (Photo courtesy of Mariano Marcos State University)

LAOAG CITY — At least 1,000 employees of the state-run Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac City, Ilocos Norte would get jabs against COVID-19, university officials said Tuesday, June 15.

The initial rollout of the vaccination drive in the university was set on June 17.

A lay forum on COVID-19 vaccination was held virtually on June 14 among the employees of MMSU and members of the vaccination team of the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC).

MMMH&MC, as a primary COVID-19 referral hospital in Ilocos Norte, would provide technical assistance to the vaccination team of MMSU.

The Department of Health and MMMH&MC had earlier committed to vaccinating the 1,000 university employees as a “big step towards becoming a truly COVID-resilient university,” according to MMSU President Shirley Agrupis.

On June 15, MMMH&MC personnel had coached the MMSU vaccination team on COVID-19 vaccination’s micro-planning, waste management planning, data management, counseling, screening, vaccination, and managing adverse events following immunization and special interests.

Dr. Gretchen Ranada, MMMH&MC’s COVID-19 vaccination team leader, said that the success of the implementation of the vaccination drive in MMSU would determine “the possible provision of vaccine [doses], which may lead to achieving herd immunity in the university.”

State university employees fall under the A4 priority group, or those who have to work outside their residences or are government workers, according to the Department of Health. INQ