Pasig City just became the first local government unit (LGU) to receive an approved COVID-19 vaccination plan from the Department of Health (DOH) and World Health Organization (WHO), according to Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto.
“I was told that Pasig is the first LGU with a DOH/WHO (World Health Organization)-approved vaccination plan!” the mayor announced on his personal Twitter account.
Sotto posted the tweet after a meeting with national government agencies and their representatives, including vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez and testing czar Vince Dizon.
He also uploaded a link to a copy of Pasig City’s vaccination plan.
MORE ON VACCINES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Biggest in History: LGUs Told to Prepare COVID Vaccination Plans
These Cities Placed Orders for COVID-19 Vaccines
Explained: How the Philippines Will Store, Transport, Distribute Vaccines
According to the Philippine News Agency, the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) has identified Pasig City as a model LGU for the entire country because of its plans and programs to fight COVID-19.
“We can see that Pasig City is a model for the entire Philippines because of the leadership of Mayor Vico Sotto. With the support from the national government, we were able to slow down COVID-19 cases. Even during the Christmas and New Year holidays, we didn’t see a significant surge in the number of cases,” Dizon was reported saying in Filipino.
According to the approved vaccination plan, the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered first to 195,912 individuals in priority groups that includes frontline health workers, senior citizens, the indigent population (senior citizen and PWDs), and uniformed personnel.
They have also identified vaccination command centers in the locality. Public schools under the Department of Education (DepEd) will serve as COVID-19 vaccination sites.
The plan will have three stages: pre-vaccination phase, vaccination, and post-vaccination.
“Our LGU’s ‘Beat COVID-19 Task Force will continue to work with our national government agencies, WHO, private medical institutions, and NGOs. They’ve been with us every step of the way,” Vico said in his tweet.
At least 61 LGUs in the country have expressed their intent to procure COVID-19 vaccines for their residents. These cities include the City of Manila, Makati City, Pasig City, Valenzuela City, Navotas City, Muntinlupa City and the city of Antipolo and municipality of Cainta in Rizal.
Do pregnant women need the COVID-19 vaccine? An immunologist answers here.
