SENIORS JABBED:
Cebu City has inoculated more than 3,000 senior citizens at Robinsons Galleria, UC Banilad campus, SM Seaside City
Senior citizens in Cebu City are assisted as they line up for vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 at the Lower Ground Floor, Cube Wing of SM Seaside City Cebu on Thursday, April 22, 2021. Inset, some vaccinated senior citizens have their photos taken in front of a photo wall on the vaccination at the mall. SM Seaside City Cebu is the third vaccination site that the Cebu City Government has opened in the city. It will open a fourth site next week to speed up the vaccination rollout.
AFTER Cebu City opened a third vaccination site at the SM Seaside City at the South Road Properties on Thursday, April 22, 2021, it will open another one at the SM City Cebu at the North Reclamation Area next week.
According to City Councilor Dave Tumulak, the City wants to cater to more individuals and fasttrack the vaccination rollout.
The first two vaccine sites are at the Robinsons Galleria and the University of Cebu Banilad campus.
Tumulak said the City is set to sign a memorandum of agreement with SM, adding that the opening of vaccination sites is at no expense to the City Government.
Vice president of SM Prime Holdings Marissa Fernan said the malls’ atmosphere will help ease the anxiety of vaccinees.
Fernan vowed that SM will continue to help the community “in good times, in difficult times.”
City Health Department officer-in-charge Jeffrey Ibones said the Vaccine Advisory Board (VAB) targets to vaccinate 600 individuals against Covid-19 in each site.
However, Ibones said they are worried about the supply of vaccines.
“Hopefully the DOH (Department of Health) will give us more vaccines para maka-rollout gyud ta’g maayo kay makita man nato sa atong statistics (so our rollout can proceed without a hitch),” said Ibones.
Since the start of the vaccine rollout for senior citizens last Monday, 3,037 have received the first dose of the two-dose vaccine.
Ibones said around 19,000 senior citizens have registered online for vaccination and 10,000 more have agreed to be vaccinated based on the City’s house-tohouse survey.
Ibones said the VAB targets to start accommodating those who belong in the Priority Code A3, or persons with comorbidities.
He reminded the public to register online or approach the barangay to register.
He said by registering online, the DOH 7 will know how many vaccines to allocate to Cebu City.
In Mandaue City, 600 senior citizens were vaccinated during the first two days of the City’s vaccine rollout for the elderly.
Ernie Manatad, chairman of the City’s VAB and president of the Association of Barangay Councils, said the problem they faced on the second day were walk-ins at the vaccination site at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.
Manatad said they don’t allow walk-ins, adding that senior citizens from Barangays Subangdaku, Cabancalan, Tabok, Opao, Tawason and Casili were given slots on Thursday.
He said those who want to be inoculated have to register in the barangay and wait for the barangay to issue them a vaccination card with their schedule of vaccination.
He told SunStar Cebu many who were scheduled to be vaccinated in the morning did not arrive until after lunch.
Meanwhile, Manatad said the common adverse effect experienced by senior citizens after getting the shot was a rise in their blood pressure. Other than that, they all felt fine, he said.
Among those who were vaccinated on Thursday were former Mandaue City Health Office head Dr. Rosemarie Ouano-Tirado and Linda Ouano, mother of Sixth District Rep. Emmarie Ouano-Dizon.
Ouano, a registered nurse, encouraged her fellow senior citizens to get vaccinated and to take advantage of the government’s inoculation program.