NAGA CITY — At least 7 teams were organized to complement the manpower requirement of the newly created Naga City Covid-19 Vaccination Operation Center (NCVOC) which is mandated to see to it the successful execution of the vaccination roll-out in this city.

The establishment of the Center was considered since the Philippines is now under Phase III of the National Action Plan Against Coronavirus disease 2019 that seeks to mitigate the health risks related to Covid-19 while gradually transitioning to full socioeconomic recovery.

One of the key components of Phase III is a national vaccination program intended to make the majority of the Filipino people less susceptible to Covid-19.

Mayor Nelson Legacion earlier issued Executive Order 2021-01 that created the preparatory committee in Naga City for the national and local vaccination programs tasked with the formulation of the Naga City Vaccination Plan including the identification of vaccines, vaccination sites, cold storage, public health workers, among others.

The 7 teams are:

1. Planning, Campaign Management and Technical Team which is composed of the City Health Office personnel with Dr. Vito Borja II as team leader.
2. Cold chain and Logistics Team of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office with Ernesto Elcamel as team leader.
3. Coordination Team of the Public Safety Office with Renne Gumba as team leader.
4. Vaccine safety, Surveillance and Response Team composed of the Naga City Hospital personnel headed by Dr. Joseph Sanchez as team leader.
5. Communication, Advocacy, and Partnership Team of the City Events, Protocol, and Public Information Office headed by Allen Reondanga as team leader.
6. Vaccination Site Management Team of the City Engineer’s Office and the Solid Management Office with Engr. Alexander Caning and Engr. Joel Martin as team leader and co-team leader, respectively.
7. Finance Team is to be headed by City Budget Officer Francisco Mendoza as team leader.

Executive Order 2021-004 also created the NCVOC Executive Committee to facilitate coordination among the teams, and identify and address implementation issues or bottlenecks in advance. It shall be chaired by the city mayor and co-chaired by the city director of the Department of Interior and Local Government. It shall have the following members:

1. A DOH representative
2. Chief of Police, PNP
3. Superintendent, DepEd-Naga
4. President, Liga ng mga Barangay
5. Chairperson, SP Committee on Health
6. City Administrator
7. All NCVOC Team Leaders and Co-Team Leader
8. City Planning and Development Coordinator
9. Information and Technology Officer
10. Representative, NCPC

296 inoculated at BMC

At least 296 of the medical healthcare workers of the LGU were already inoculated with AstraZeneca vaccines yesterday, March 22.

The vaccination, which was conducted at the Bicol Medical Center and administered by the health personnel of the regional hospital, was held few days before the city government will engage on mass immunization of 3,600 PWDs with ages range from 30 to 59 years old.

Paul John Barrosa, head of Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO), said the target age group was recorded to have the highest number of persons who died due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid 19) last year.

The vaccinated frontliners at the BMC are doctors, nurses, midwives, ambulance drivers and other frontline employees of the City Health Office, Naga City Hospital, and Our Lady of Lourdes Infirmary.

Dr. Joey Rañola, BMC’s focal person for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases (EREID), said the vaccination will also serve as an avenue for the city’s medical frontliners to further their knowledge on immunization administration.

“The immunization which the city’s frontliners have gone through could expand the understanding they obtained from the series of webinars organized by the Department of Health in the province,” he said.