The first Bacolod City government dry run for mass COVID-19 vaccination met Department of Health standards, Dr. Chris Sorongon, Bacolod Emergency Operations Center deputy for medical data and analysis, said.
Fifty volunteers joined the dry run and were injected with tetanus toxoid vaccines, to protect them from tetanus, at the Barangay Villamonte Gym in Bacolod City today, February 5, he said.
It took 8 to 10 minutes for each volunteer to be vaccinated from the time of entry into the gym, which was faster than the DOH projected time of 17 minutes, he said.
There were 80-90 personnel at the mass vaccination activity who were observed by DOH representatives, he said.
The DOH representatives congratulated the city for a job well done and gave a few suggestions to further improve the process, Sorongon said.
“The simulation is a DOH requirement, and we wanted to identify strengths and weaknesses of our vaccination procedures,” he said.
Bacolod City has identified 25 vaccination centers but may increase the number as private school officials have offered the use of their gyms, Sorongon said.
The AstraZeneca vaccines purchased by the Bacolod City government are expected to arrive at the end of August or early September, he said.
However, the vaccines to be provided by the national government could arrive by the end of this month, he added.
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran were among the city officials present at the dry run.
Sorongon said more vaccination dry runs will be held, which will also boost the confidence of the people in the city government’s vaccination program.*