86 garbage collectors in Lapu-Lapu City to get free tetanus shots, vitamins
AT LEAST 86 garbage collectors working for the Lapu-Lapu City Government will each get a free anti-tetanus shot, vitamins and other amenities that could help them avoid getting sick.
This was made possible after the Lapu-Lapu City Council adopted Resolution 16-0455-2022 authored by Councilor Annabeth Cuizon during its regular session on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.
Cuizon’s resolution seeks to request the city administrator, City Health Office and the Human Resources Management and Development Office to provide assistance to the city’s garbage collectors.
With the adoption of the resolution, the city’s garbage collectors are not only entitled to a free anti-tetanus vaccine and vitamins but they will also be given their own personal protective equipment.
Each of the garbage collectors will also get a free pneumococcal vaccine, which will protect them from pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis.
Based on Cuizon’s resolution, garbage collectors, being essential frontline workers, are entitled to regular assistance from the city government as their work often exposes them to different types of waste.
In a statement he posted on his Facebook page, Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan said he was happy with the adoption of Cuizon’s resolution, adding that this will greatly help their garbage collectors.
Chan said garbage collectors cannot avoid getting exposed to different objects, particularly sharp and rusty objects that put them at risk of contracting tetanus disease.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is an infection caused by a bacterium called Clostridium tetani.
The CDC said that spores of the tetanus bacteria are everywhere in the environment and can develop once they enter the body usually through injuries.
Aside from the common symptom which is the tightening of the jaw muscles, other symptoms of tetanus include sudden, involuntary muscle spasm, painful muscle stiffness, trouble swallowing, seizures, headaches, fever and sweating and changes in blood pressure and heart rate.
Tetanus can also cause serious health problems such as laryngospasm or the involuntary tightening of the vocal cords; fractures, pulmonary embolism, aspiration pneumonia and breathing difficulty.
According to the CDC, around one to two cases of tetanus lead to death.
Cuizon told SunStar Cebu that garbage collectors will be vaccinated and get their vitamins in the last week of September in time for the city government’s celebration of the 122nd Civil Service Commission anniversary.
The councilor said she still has to discuss with City Health Officer Agnes Cecile Realiza the frequency of the assistance.