MORE than a week since the Davao City Government launched the online vaccination appointment system on the Safe Davao QR (DQR) Code, the City Government targets to include more vaccination sites under the online scheduling system to accommodate more individuals.
Under the DQR vaccination appointment system, Dabawenyos can choose their preferred date, time, and vaccination site.
However, Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) head and DQR Implementation supervisor Lemuel Ortonio said since the online scheduling system was launched on August 7, only four vaccination sites can be selected in the app for now.
“We have already rolled it out last Saturday, open na nato siya (it is already open) for the public. Makaregister sila og makaskedyul na sila sa ilang sa vaccination. However, four sites pa lang ta karon ang na-open (They can already schedule their vaccination. However, only four sites can be selected),” Ortonio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio on Wednesday, August 11.
These vaccination sites are Magallanes Elementary School, the F.S. Dizon Elementary School, Gaisano Mall of Davao, and the Davao City National High School.
Ortonio said they will eventually add more vaccination sites until such time that all vaccination sites are in the system.
“Eventually, magkahinay-hinay ta noh nga idungag nato ang mga ubang vaccination sites until such time na makumpleto na nato tanang vaccination sites where our citizens may be able to register para sa ilahang vaccination (we will add vaccination sites until such time that we complete all sites for our citizens to register for their vaccination),” he said.
The DQR supervisor encouraged registrants to follow their chosen schedule so as not to delay the schedule of others.
Under the DQR appointment, registrants can only cancel their appointment twice a week.
District Health physician Dr. Aldrich So admitted it could take a while for them to add other vaccination sites in the appointment system.
“We are trying to expand, probably weekly, kay aside sa orientation sa districts, we have to make sure makasabot pud ang staff unsaon. Hinay-hinay jud sya sa pag-implememt (since aside from the orientation of districts, we have to make sure the staff understands how to do it. We will implement it gradually),” So said.
He also admitted that the system experiences few minor glitches. Thus, he asked citizens who encounter errors upon registering to report their concerns.
So said the online appointment eliminates the queuing of people outside vaccination sites, as people who will be catered to are only those who have schedules.
“We want to eliminate walk-in labaw na karon we are (especially now we are currently) experiencing Delta variant. We want to limit pagtapok sa mga tawo (mass gatherings). This scheduler can be a tool na mahimo na sya because syempre kung pila ang stocks sa vaccines mao lang sad ang expected of people ngadto sa site (to achieve that since with the number of stocks, the same number of people will be expected at the site),” the District Health physician said.
Ortonio also reiterated that only those in priority groups A1 (medical frontliners), A2 (senior citizens), A3 (persons with comorbidities), A4 (essential workers), and A5 (indigents) are those who can register through the online scheduling system.
He also said that open schedules in the four sites will also depend on the vaccines that will be given. If it is donated, such as those from the Covax facility of the World Health Organization, it will only be available for A1, A2, A3, and A5. Hence, registrants under A4 won’t be seeing any open dates at all.
In pre-registering, one’s priority group will be asked so Ortonio reminded Dabawenyos to be honest with their priority groups. If a person from the general population signs up under A3, he or she will still have to present medical certificates and other documents to prove any comorbidity at the vaccination site.
“While we acknowledge ang desire sa atong citizens na gusto mag pa vaccine, we have to be truthful when we report, if we pre-register kay dili nato gusto pag-abot sa vaccination site magkaparoblema sila kay dili tama ang giregister na priority group nila (While we acknowledge the desire of our citizens to get vaccinated, we have to be truthful of our information when we pre-register because we don’t want them to face any problem at the vaccination site for not registering in their proper priority group),” Ortonio added.
For some who cannot access the scheduler, he said the reason could be any of the following: first, they may have chosen a vaccination site outside of the currently opened four sites catering to vaccination by appointment; second, they may have chosen a vaccination site that’s already full on the date and time they prefer; third, they are not part of the priority groups that are currently being served; and fourth, they may have not yet pre-registered with the vaccination DQR or the Safe DQR.
So added that following the priority grouping in the vaccination scheduler is also based on the guidelines set by the Department of Health due to the limited number of vaccines. The priority groups are on top of the list because they are the more exposed groups and vulnerable to Covid-19 infection, he said.
