Cebu City’s response to low turnout: ‘Operation Hakot,’ pop up vax sites

CEBU, Philippines —  In response to the recent low turnout at vaccination centers, the Cebu City government will resort to the “Operation Hakot” and “pop up vaccination sites.”

Acting Mayor Michael Rama explained that Operation Hakot means transporting the vaccinees from their houses to the vaccination sites, especially those not accessible to public transport.

He said the city will coordinate with the barangays for the transportation of these vaccinees.

Cebu City Health Department officer-in-char Dr. Jeffrey Ibones said the Waterfront Hotel, for one, has offered its buses for the transportation of vaccinees.

Aside from free transportation, Rama said the city is looking at establishing pop up vaccination sites to allow residents to get the vaccine from centers close to their homes.

“Magbutang ta’g pop up vaccination sites nga pwede ra ta mag-tsinelas ug mag-shorts,” he said.

On top of the usual vaccination efforts, the city will also continue its home vaccination program for the bedridden and disabled residents.

A fewer number of people has been observed at vaccination centers lately. One of the reasons cited was the fact that the vaccine administered was reportedly Sinovac.

Health authorities have repeatedly said that vaccines against COVID-19, regardless of brand, are all safe and effective.

Rama, thus, urged his constituents to take advantage of these vaccines.

“Ayaw pamili mintras buhi pa ka. Maigo na gani ka, ayha pa ka moingo’g pabakuna ka. Wa gihapon,” said Rama.

Emergency Operations Center deputy chief implementer and City Councilor Joel Garganera dispelled rumors about Sinovac’s effectivity, saying he, too, got Sinovac.

“Ako Sinovac ko. Ambot bitaw ning uban, wako kasabot. Inilog kaayo na’s uban ang Sinovac. Sinovac and any kind of brand maka-prevent gyud na para dili ma-severe. In fact, sa atong daily cases sa atong mga hospitals, yes, naay mga fully vaccinated nga naigo, but, they are asymptomatic,”Garganera said.

“Nasud man gani sila sa hospital because of comorbidity or sa ilang edad, but wala gyud na sila ma-severe,” he added.

Garganera shared that his son, who got vaccinated late, got hospitalized for 21 days due to COVID-19.

“Mahal and pangitaon pa gyud ang mga tambal. Maong pa-vaccine na mo. Dili na ta magpaabot pa ta og unsa nga vaccine diha,” the EOC chief said.

Pfizer

Meanwhile, a total of 51,480 doses of Pfizer-Biontech vaccines arrived in Cebu on September 1, said Visayas Vaccination Operations Center spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche.

Loreche said that the allocation for these newly-arrived vaccines will be announced during her daily briefing today at the VVOC to be aired live via Project Balik Buhay Facebook page.

The allocation of Pfizer-BioNTech for Cebu is part of the 703,170 government-procured doses as it continues to keep its commitment of providing a steady supply of vaccines to the Philippines.

According to the National Task Force Against COVID-19, the latest delivery is the fifth shipment from the US-based pharmaceutical firm and is part of the five million doses that the government expects to receive this month from the company.

NTFA chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said majority of the allocation will be given to provinces and those affected regions, especially Region 4-A, Region 3, Region 1, Region 2, Region 7, Region 11, Region 6, Region 8, and Region 9. These, he said, are areas heavily affected by COVID-19.

Galvez said that some of these vaccines will be deployed to areas which have not yet received Pfizer vaccines, as this will prepare the LGUs for the arrival of bigger shipments from Pfizer in the coming months.

“Those areas that have never been reached by Pfizer because we wanted all municipalities and have that sort of dry run so that when the majority of the Pfizer vaccines will come by October. More or less 10 million will be delivered each month during October, November, and December,” Galvez said.

By that time, Galvez said, “they (LGUs) are already knowledgeable on how to handle critical supplies like the vaccines of Pfizer.”

A total of 2,823,700 Pfizer doses purchased by the government have so far been delivered as part of the 40 million doses procured from the American manufacturer.

As of September 1, a total of 52,603,760 COVID-19 vaccine doses have arrived in the Philippines.

Nearly 3 million for CV

Here in Central Visayas, Loreche said, 2,792,100 vaccine doses (all brands) have been received, excluding the newly-arrived Pfizer-Biontech vaccines.

Of these, 1,560,240 are Sinovac; 264,560 are Astraazeneca; 549,900 are Pfizer; 10,700 are Gamaleya; 208,900 are Janssen; and 97,800 are Moderna.

As of September 1, 2021, a total of 1,447,007 individuals have received their first and second doses across all public and private sector vaccination centers in Cebu.

As of August 31, 2021, a total of 1,951,682 individuals in Central Visayas have received the first and second doses, with Cebu topping the list (1,416,829), Bohol (272,248), Negros Oriental (205,916) and Siquijor (56,689). — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon, JMD (FREEMAN)