Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro on Wednesday said the city government has set aside a local indemnification fund to assist residents who would suffer from severe injuries or any adverse effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines.

Teodoro said the city government is putting up a post-care monitoring system to observe individuals who will be administered the vaccines.

“In Marikina, we are putting up an indemnification fund or Covid assistance fund in order to build up the trust and confidence of our people,” Teodoro said during the visit of the Covid-19 Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) team, led by the National Task Force (NTF) and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) in Marikina City.

Teodoro said there is a lot of indigent and marginalized residents in the city who would like to get vaccinated but express fear about the adverse effects of the vaccines.

“Marami kasi dito na magpapabakuna ay indigent, mahihirap — nag-aalala kung may mangyayari [sa kanila] saan kukuha ng panggastos kaya (Many of the residents here are poor and they are worried about where to get the hospitalization expenses if something happens to them after being vaccinated),” he said. “That’s why we’re putting that fund.”

Teodoro described the move as ‘bayanihan spirit’ among the national government, the local government units (LGUs), and the private sector.

“I think itong yung sinasabi ng Pangulo [Rodrigo Duterte] at ni Sec. Charlie [Galvez] na yung bayanihan mahalaga and we should synergize everything na naku-complement natin ang isa’t isa (I think this is what the President and Sec. Charlie mean that bayanihan is very essential and we should synergize everything so that we can complement each other),” he said.

City-wide vaccination plan

Teodoro said the city government is proceeding with cautious optimism for its city-wide vaccination plan.

“We shall rely highly on the IATF’s medical and technical expertise sa pagpili ng pinaka-efficient at pinaka-ligtas na Covid-19 vaccine para sa ating ga kababayan hindi para sa lahat na magdiskurso dito kundi bayaan natin yung mga experts at mga nakakaalam ang magsabi sa atin (in choosing the most effective and the safest Covid-19 vaccine for our citizens),” he said.

Teodoro said the city has formed a team of medical experts to guide them in their vaccination plan.

He said the team consists of practicing health professionals, scientists, and experts in the field of virology, infectious diseases, molecular microbiology, and others.

“Ang expert team na ito ang aming gabay sa pagsasagawa ng pre-work activities bago ang takdang iskedyul para sa vaccination (This team of experts will guide us in the conduct of pre-work activities before the set vaccination schedules),” he added.

Teodoro said the team will also assist the city government in ensuring the city’s efficiency on identification, profiling, and validation of medical eligibility of the target beneficiaries.

The team will also serve as the city’s consultant for counseling and post-care services to be provided for the vaccine recipients, he added.

The primary objective of the city’s vaccination plan, he said, is to protect the institutional integrity of the city’s healthcare system.

“That our healthcare system remains robust and prepared for any health crisis or any challenge and will always be ready to provide critical healthcare services,” Teodoro said.

Teodoro said the city government will prioritize the vaccination of individuals involved in the front-line services, whether medical or non-medical workers.

“This is invoking the principle of reciprocity where we put more premium to those with great responsibility and protect those who are most at risk of getting infected,” he added.

He said the city government simplified its vaccination plan in three steps — registration and screening, inoculation proper, and post-care monitoring services.

As part of its post-care services, the city government has already set up treatment facilities that will cater to individuals who would suffer from the possible adverse effects of the vaccines.

The city’s vaccination plan includes preparation of logistical requirements, readying the needed peripherals and incidental expenditures, requirements for vaccinators, post-care services for the vaccinated residents as well as setting up the compensation fund for those who will suffer severe illness and injuries as a result of administering the Covid-19 jabs.

“Hindi nating sinasabi na maraming magkakaroon ng adverse reaction kundi para sa ganun mabuo lamang ang tiwala ng ating mga kababayan (We are not saying that many will experience adverse reactions from the vaccines, but we are doing this to gain the trust of our people),” said Teodoro.

The city government has already identified the possible vaccination sites and cold-chain storage facility, he said.

“We have started the preparation of our major vaccination area here in Marikina Sports Center,” he added, noting that it is an ideal vaccination site since it is near the city’s cold-chain storage facility located in Marikina City Health building.

It also a convenient site since it is near the city’s partner-hospitals, he said.

Uniformed personnel from the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the Joint Task Force on Covid-19, who qualified during the vaccinators’ assessment, will be part of the inoculation program as trained vaccinators, he added.

“Our initial round of vaccination shall target our 7,800 public and private healthcare front-liners,” Teodoro said.

“Ang pagbili po ng bakuna ng LGU uulitin ko po ay augmentation lamang po sa ating (The procurement of the vaccine by the LGU, I repeat, is only an augmentation to the) national vaccination plan — as we are short in fund resource and we believe that the medically proficient agency to determine the most efficient and the safest vaccine, comes from the national government,” he said.

Teodoro assured the national government of the city’s full support to the whole-of-nation approach in the Covid-19 national immunization program. (PNA)