The city government is planning to open “drive-thru” vaccination sites for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) to further increase its capacity.
City Mayor Ronnel Rivera said on Friday they are currently identifying possible sites in parts of the city’s 26 barangays that could be utilized as vaccination hubs and host the express inoculation.
He said they are targeting its rollout once the city gets more vaccine supplies from the national government and its planned procurement.
The local government has a standing allocation of PHP125 million for the purchase of AstraZeneca and Covovax vaccines.
“This will help us maximize our vaccination and reach the targeted population protection level by November,” he told reporters.
The city government currently has two mega Covid-19 vaccination sites situated at the KCC Veranza and Robinsons malls, which accommodate 700 to 1,000 individuals daily.
These are on top of the existing vaccination facilities at the city fish port complex in Barangay Tambler and selected rural health units in the city.
Rivera said that aside from the “drive-thru” vaccination facilitation, they are working on putting up at least three sites in each barangay.
He said the move will eventually increase the city’s vaccination capacity to 5,000 individuals per day.
“We’re doing everything to inoculate our eligible population the soonest possible time so our situation will return to normal,” he said.
The ongoing vaccination activities in the city presently cover priority groups A1 (front-line health workers), A1.8 (outbound overseas workers), A2 (senior citizens), A3 (persons with comorbidities), and A4 (essential workers).
Data released by the City Health Office as of Aug. 2 showed that a total of 70,914 vaccines were already administered in the city since March, comprising Sinovac’s CoronaVac, AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik V, and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen.
A total of 42,952 individuals have already received their first dose while 27,962 were inoculated with the second dose or fully vaccinated. (PNA)