ILOILO – This province is hoping to reach herd immunity against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) before the year ends. But Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said manpower and equipment to achieve it are needed.
“May challenges kita in terms of encoding and transmission of data,” said Defensor.
As of Nov. 19, a total of 481,736 individuals – 33.25 percent of the target population – have been fully vaccinated. They were healthcare workers (73,458), senior citizens (101,416), persons with comorbidities (120,167), uniformed personnel (121,448), indigent (44,610), and others (44).
This accomplishment could be even higher if data encoding in each local government unit (LGU) is scaled up, according to Defensor.
He said 43 mayors agreed to designate their scholars, particularly recipients of the Government Internship Program and the Iskolar sang Iloilo Program (ISIP), as encoders.
The provincial government will also hire more encoders.
The hiring of doctors, nurses and nursing attendants is also ongoing.
The provincial government is looking for 1,092 vaccinators to assist the vaccination teams of each LGU. It will pay for the medical staff to be hired with the following rates: medical officers – P2,627.50/day; nurses – P1,146.91/day; and nursing attendants – P600.64/day.
The hiring of medical staff will last until Dec. 31, after which the provincial government will evaluate if there is a need to extend their services.
“Subong mabudlay sa aton ang 35,000 (target vaccinees) daily because we are still in the process of hiring,” said Defensor.
Here’s the breakdown of the needed medical staff per district:
1st District
* medical officers – 26
* nurses – 52
* nursing attendants – 104
2nd District
* medical officers – 28
* nurses – 56
* nursing attendants – 112
3rd District
* medical officers – 30
* nurses – 60
* nursing attendants – 120
4th District
* medical officers – 32
* nurses – 64
* nursing attendants – 128
5th District
* medical officers – 40
* nurses – 80
* nursing attendants – 160
Defensor said the provincial government should achieve herd immunity by the end of the year not because the national government has given them the target but because vaccination is the “only strategy to protect everyone against COVID-19.”
For Defensor, while the alert level classification is downgrading, the vaccination accomplishment must increase.
“Naga-double-time kita. Ginahimu naton ang tanan. We are using all the resources nga puede magamit para malagas (ang herd immunity),” said Defensor.
The provincial government is also procuring additional syringes.
“Medyo may shortage kita,” Defensor added.
Defensor also spelled out these strategies to reach the target 35,000 vaccinees daily:
* reorganize the Local Vaccine Operations Center into a functional and responsive unit;
* revisit the micro plans and vaccination plans (human resource, logistics, budget and strategies);
* compute and validate targets of the province and municipal/city LGUs;
* improve supply chain management (regular inventory versus daily vaccination as accomplishment);
* identify the applicable vaccination strategies to reach vulnerable and special populations and remote areas;
* set the timeline to complete the vaccination;
* designate the data management team – data encoding, data cleaning, data validation and data analysis; and
* conduct refresher orientations/trainings among the vaccination and composite teams as necessary/PN