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NAT'L VAX DAY. Cebu City Health Department head, Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, answers queries on the sideline of the "Bida Kids" vaccination drive launching at the Ayala Center Cebu in Cebu City on Tuesday (March 8, 2022). Ibones said the city government will shift its focus towards the minor population during the nationwide vaccination drive on March 10 to 12, after surpassing its minimum target in inoculating senior citizens. (PNA photo by John Rey Saavedra) CEBU CITY - The city government will target the young population in the "Bayanihan, Bakunahan" national vaccination days on March 10 to 12, as it surpassed its minimum inoculation coverage for the senior citizens. Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, Cebu City Health Department (CCHD) head, said Tuesday it is ready for the three-day nationwide vaccination drive to be done in more than 30 regular and pop sites all around the city. "Actually, we have reached, in our list, the 73 percent which is above the target for the senior citizens," Ibones said on the sideline of the "Bida Kids" vaccination drive launching at the Ayala Center Cebu. He said many elderlies in the city were recorded in other categories A1 and A4 when they received their coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) jabs. Based on the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) rules, a local government can transition to the Alert Level 1 in the quarantine restrictions if, among others, it can inoculate 68 percent of the elderly population. The Department of Health (DOH) and the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center set the target for this city at around 13,000. Ibones said the DOH has already allocated vaccine doses intended for the fourth leg of the nationwide vaccination effort. He also commended the parents for their eagerness to have their children aged five to 11 vaccinated against Covid-19. In fact, for the second time last Friday, the city ran out of vaccine doses for the children population. The Ayala Center Cebu is the third vaccination site specially designed for children aged 5 to 11. The other two sites are the Abellana National School and the Robinsons Cybergate in Fuente Osmena area. Ibones assured the city residents of enough vaccine doses for the three-day national vaccination drive. (PNA) }
Cebu City Health Department head Dr. Jeffrey Ibones. (Screenshot from Cebu City PIO video) CEBU CITY - The top health official here on Wednesday said recipients of primary doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine will be the priority target for the third run of the "Bayanihan, Bakunahan" on February 10-11. In a virtual presser, Cebu City Health Department (CCHD) head, Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, said the Department of Health (DOH) has pegged the target number of individuals to be vaccinated during the two-day National Vaccination Days at 58,000. During the nationwide vaccination activity, the city government will open 40 vaccination sites in clustered barangays, including the 11 fixed inoculation sites regularly administering Covid-19 jabs. "We are all set for tomorrow (Feb.10). We have informed our volunteers on their assignments. Our forms have already been distributed to different vaccination sites that will participate in the Bayanihan, Bakunahan," Ibones said. He said the city government expects the help of barangay officials in setting up the pop-up sites and in disseminating information about the massive inoculation event. Ibones commended the Cebu Medical Society headed by Dr. Minnie Monteclaro for providing volunteer medical front-liners who will man the inoculation desk as well as those who will assess individuals before and after administering the vaccine. The CCHD and group of Monteclaro have conducted a series of meetings to prepare for the activity. Ibones also cited the administrations of the Cebu City Medical Center, Chong Hua Hospital, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, and Cebu's different nursing schools for providing the city with volunteer nurses, while the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. provided them with blood pressure apparatus. To date, the city registered 1.06 million adults, 82,512 children and teenagers aged 12 to 17, and 6,542 children aged five to 11 who are seeking inoculation. "We encourage those who have received their primary doses to visit any of their vaccination sites tomorrow (for them) to get their booster shot," Ibones said. (PNA) }
ZERO WASTAGE. A health worker administers a Covid-19 vaccine in a vaccination site in Cebu City in this undated photo. Cebu City Health Department head, Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, on Wednesday (Dec. 29, 2021) said no single dose of Covid-19 vaccine was wasted or spoiled during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette. (Photo courtesy of Cebu City Hall PIO) CEBU CITY - The Cebu City Health Department (CCHD) on Wednesday said no single dose of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine was spoiled during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette. Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, CCHD head, said before the typhoon's landfall, they prepared generator sets as part of the preemptive measures in case the cold chain for the vaccines would bog down during the typhoon. "Thanks God, we have no spoilage. We have prepared generator (sets). I personally inspected our cold chain at the Cebu City Health Department earlier in the day of the typhoon to ensure that no single dose would go to waste," Ibones told the Philippine News Agency in an interview. The city health officer also said in an earlier presser that despite the number of days that the city experienced challenges brought by the typhoon, they have not recorded any brands of vaccine that have expired. On Tuesday, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Covid-19 vaccine wastage due to the onslaught of Typhoon Odette remains "negligible". He said the vaccine wastage may increase as they are still waiting for additional data from Tandag City in Surigao del Sur. Meanwhile, Ibones said they saw an increase in the number of people who showed up at the vaccination sites, although most of them are for the second dose. "The people are busy with some other concerns after the typhoon like food and water. So those who seek for the second dose showed up than those who still have to receive their first jab," he said. Ibones admitted they need to stop inoculation activities on December 16, the day that Typhoon Odette struck the city and the neighboring localities in Cebu province but the vaccination resume on December 21. He said many vaccinators reported their houses were destroyed by the typhoon, causing them to halt reporting to inoculation sites after the calamity. The scheduled second "Bayaniyan, Bakunahan", a nationwide vaccination drive ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte to be done on December 15 to 23 was also halted due to the typhoon. "After Typhoon Odette, we were able to vaccinate almost 30,000 individuals. Slowly, the people will come for their jabs perhaps after resolving issues regarding the typhoon," he added. With the goal to achieve the desired population protection soon, Ibones said more vaccination sites will be opened and those that became non-operational a few days after the typhoon were opened on Tuesday. (PNA) }
POSITIVE RESPONSE. An undated photo shows residents in the mountain village of Pulangbato, Cebu City availing of Covid-19 jabs during the three-day National Vaccination Days. Mayor Michael Rama on Wednesday (Dec. 1, 2021), the last day of the three-day campaign, said the city is poised to continue holding massive vaccination in 80 barangays after seeing positive response from the residents. (Photo courtesy of Cebu City PIO) CEBU CITY - Seeing people's positive response to the National Vaccination Days campaign, Mayor Michael Rama on Wednesday said the city is contemplating on continuing the massive inoculation in 80 barangays here, targeting to achieve 100-percent population protection by January 2022. In a press briefing, Rama noted the good response to President Rodrigo Duterte's directive for the three-day inoculation drive, saying that they hit the 32,000 target on the first day and 60,000 on the second day. The mayor cited the convergence between the business community through the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and the Association of Barangay Council here for the successful holding of the vaccination drive. He said the business community is actively helping the city in conducting the National Vaccination Days from November 29 to December 1, noting that it is also directly benefiting from the government's effort to achieve at least 70-percent population protection. "By January (2022), all of us will become immune from Covid-19 then we will fully open the economy. We'll not be back to the situation before wherein we open then we close because of surge in cases," Rama said. He said the city director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Ian Kenneth Lucero, closely supervised the barangay officials in their information drive and in bringing residents to the 91 inoculation sites spread all throughout the city. Cebu City Health Department head, Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, said although the city inoculation drive was hit with a systems snag, syringe supply problem and lack of volunteer verifiers, they were able to reach the desired number of vaccinees. He said if the city decides to continue the massive vaccination activity after December 1, he will recommend lumping villages with a slower turnout of vaccinees into one cluster to maximize utilization of volunteers. Meanwhile, Rama reminded the residents on the national government's thrust in requiring employees to get vaccinated in order to be protected against Covid-19. "I don't know how true that there is an IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) directive that all private and public employees should get vaccinated," he said, stressing the city's "no vaccination, no bonus" policy. The mayor, however, said the Cebu City Hall will respect those who would not submit themselves to vaccination, provided they can produce a medical certificate signed by a public doctor as well as an affidavit citing their reasons for not getting a Covid-19 vaccine. (PNA) }
File photo CEBU CITY - Over 10,000 children in the city have registered for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination rollout for the pediatric population, the Cebu City health officer on Tuesday said. In a briefing, Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, head of the Cebu City Health Department (CCHD), said 9,000 children aged 12 to 17 years old have registered through the city's official registration site, PaBakunaTa.com. They have no comorbidities or known illnesses that serve hindrances for taking the vaccine while over 1,000 children in the city who are suffering from various illnesses have also registered for inoculation, he added. Ibones said the CCHD and the vaccination body here have ongoing talks with the Philippine Pediatrics Society (PPS) to discuss the parameters to be observed for the children's inoculation against coronavirus. The pediatricians, he said, agreed to inoculate children outside hospitals on the condition that the vaccination sites must be located near any medical centers. "Actually, we have three sites that are under consideration. These are the Southwestern University, University of Cebu Alcantara Campus and Ayala Center Cebu," Ibones said. The doctors who will serve as vaccinators for the minors will also undergo special training in handling children, as Ibones said not all physicians who volunteered for the inoculation are pediatricians. Ibones said the city government has targeted at least 150,000 children and adolescents for inoculation against Covid-19. He said the number is a rough estimate as many children have gone home to provinces after schools here disallowed face-to-face classes. Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, Visayas Vaccination Operations Center spokesperson, earlier announced that the vaccination rollout for this age group will start on Wednesday, although she clarified that not all centers are ready. However, Ibones said the city targets to start inoculating minors on Friday or Monday. Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said the national government aims to complete the vaccination of minors by December this year. (PNA) }
KIDS' VAX LIST-UP. Cerwin Eviota, public relations consultant, demonstrates the method of registering children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 for Covid-19 vaccination in a press conference at the Plaza Sugbo in Cebu City on Monday (Oct. 11, 2021). The city government launched the portal for the master-listing of minors who are eligible for inoculation against the virus. (Screenshot from Cebu City PIO video) CEBU CITY - The city government here on Monday launched the special online registration portal for children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 who are eligible for vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). The effort was in line with the national government's program to inoculate the youth sector in preparation for the possible holding of limited face-to-face classes in schools. Acting Mayor Michael Rama led the demonstration on the procedure in registering minors using the PaBakunaTa.com online registration portal run by the city through the local vaccine board. Cerwin Eviota, a public relations consultant to Rama's office, used the data of his son in showing to reporters the method of submitting the personal details of the children who are qualified to get the vaccine. Although there are no guidelines yet as to the inoculation of the youth, Rama said it is "better to be ahead of everything" by making the list of young population who are eligible to get the Covid-19 jabs rather not having done any steps at all to protect them from the coronavirus. "We are governed by the Local Government Code of the Philippines. The provisions are clear when it comes to anything in this nature about pandemic, health crisis or other crisis. We don't have to always look up above. What is really incumbent is the word empowerment, self-reliance, and self-determination," Rama said, as he explained his view on moving forward in completing the master-listing of the young population. The acting mayor expressed optimism that the 70-percent population protection could be reached by year-end once inoculation of the youth begins. Cebu City Health Department head, Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, said children with comorbidities will be prioritized once inoculation of their sector starts. Meanwhile, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, Department of Health (DOH)-Central Visayas chief pathologist, said local government units (LGU) should educate their constituents on the "shelf life" of the vaccines to generate interest for inoculation against Covid-19. "The government has been true to its promise which is to provide the vaccine to our people and they have delivered them accordingly. The effort must also be tripartite like in purchasing the vaccine jabs from their manufacturers. Tripartite effort means the national, local and the people must be hand in hand in achieving the desired population protection," Loreche said in mixed English and Filipino during her virtual briefing. The people, he said, must be mindful of the vaccines' life span while in the cold storage facility at the DOH regional office, and get for themselves any of those available. Covid-19 vaccines have a shelf life of six months to two years. (PNA) }