Mayor Evelio Leonardia has issued an executive order creating the Bacolod City COVID-19 Vaccination (CoVac) Council to set up a roadmap for providing Bacolodnons access to coronavirus vaccines “at the soonest possible time with the widest and most realistic coverage possible.”
Leonardia, in Executive Order No. 83, Series of 2020, said the American drug company Pfizer reported that its new COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90 percent effective, and shortly after, Moderna reported similar positive news regarding its own vaccine.
There are also other COVID-19 vaccines in advanced stages of development in other countries that may later on be authorized for Philippine use by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), including vaccines from the United Kingdom, Russia, India, and China, he said
It is the highest priority of Bacolod City government to ensure that the lives of Bacolodnons, especially the underprivileged, poor and marginalized, frontline workers, health professionals, those in the essential services, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, children and people in vulnerable situations, will be protected from COVID-19 by ensuring accessibility and adequacy of supply of related drugs and vaccines, he said.
The Department of Budget and Management Secretary Wendel Avisado has made a public pronouncement that vaccination is the responsibility of the national government and Vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez has said that Bacolod City is among the priorities of the National Vaccination Program, the mayor said.
In light of the foregoing developments, Leonardia said he is organizing the council to oversee and ensure the expeditious and the orderly acquisition and distribution of the vaccine in Bacolod.
The council will be chaired by Leonardia with Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran as vice chairperson, and City Administrator Em Ang as council coordinator.
The Bacolod CoVac Council is tasked with:
*Profiling and identifying members of priority sectors for COVID-19 vaccination;
*Selecting and acquiring the COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the Philippines;
*Developing and administering a system for registering beneficiaries, tracking the distribution of doses, and monitoring of any adverse events following immunization (AEFI);
*Selecting and developing vaccination centers in suitable places within the city;
*Ensuring availability of suitable cold storage facilities for the vaccine, including mobile cold storage units to the extent feasible;
*Developing and strengthening the supply chain for the vaccine, including transportation and distribution facilities, equipment, vehicles and systems, and other relevant assets;
*Ensuring the availability of sufficient manpower to distribute and administer the vaccine, including medical and non-medical private sector volunteers wherever necessary;
*Assisting to obtain the necessary funding for the acquisition of the vaccine; and
*Developing an information campaign to achieve public acceptance of the vaccine and awareness of its benefits.
“The creation of the COVID-19 Vaccination (CoVac) Council in Bacolod is a first among LGUs,” Executive Director Veronica Hitosis of the League of Cities of the Philippines said.*