The city government of Manila on Tuesday started its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination simulation as part of the Manila Vaccination Plan (MVP) program.
“We want to achieve, to practice, together with our Manila Health Department (MHD), hospital directors, and medical front-liners, to see the possible scenarios that may slow down the process and avoid mishandling of the vaccines,” Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso said in a mix of English and Filipino during the simulation program at the Palma Hall of the Universidad de Manila (UdM).
He said the city government decided to conduct a “mock vaccination” while waiting for the arrival of vaccines.
Domagoso said the simulation showed that the vaccination process itself may last from five to six minutes if the patient has already pre-registered through the website manilacovid19.com.
For walk-in or unregistered individuals, he said there may be an additional five minutes on top of the six minutes.
Domagoso, however, clarified that the said time does not include the individual’s schedule for queuing.
After receiving the vaccine, the patient will be asked to stay at a holding area for about 30 minutes to 1 hour under observation for any adverse reaction.
MHD Officer Dr. Arnold ‘Poks’ Pangan laid out the steps for the process.
If patients are pre-registered, they will be checked of vital signs and undergo screening verification before receiving the shot.
If the patients will go as walk-in, they will be checked for vital signs and fill out registration forms before screening and verification.
After the vaccination, the person’s data will be found in an ID indicating the name of the person who administered the vaccine, the vaccine’s lot number, its brand, and the date it was given.
The said ID, Domagoso said, will be the person’s proof that he is already vaccinated against Covid-19, which he may present when he reports back to work or when traveling.
Domagoso also emphasized the importance of being honest and tell medical professionals about their true health status.
Meanwhile, he added that the simulation activity at the UdM is only the first of many simulations that will be done by the city government.
“While we are waiting for the vaccines in the City of Manila, gusto namin malaman paano siya ide-deploy in a small group. Ang susunod naman dito (we want to know how they will be deployed in a small group. After this), we will have another deployment in a larger scale,” Domagoso said.
He added that the simulation would also serve as a “stress test” for the local government’s technological tools and for the medical personnel to determine how they can make the vaccine process more efficient on both pre-registered and non-registered patients.
Storage facility
Domagoso said city government already received the nine Covid-19 refrigeration units that it has purchased from Germany.
He said three more will be delivered in the coming days.
The refrigeration units arrived at the Sta. Ana Hospital, where the Manila Covid-19 vaccine storage facility is being built.
The hospital received five Haier HYC-390 refrigeration units which can store vaccine doses from AstraZeneca and Sinovac.
Four other biomedical freezers that can store Johnson&Johnson and Moderna vaccine vials were delivered to Sta. Ana hospital.
Domagoso said the -86 degrees Celsius ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers from Haier that can store Pfizer vaccine vials are set to arrive in the coming days.
The units are also equipped with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to ensure the integrity of the vaccines.
Meanwhile, 50 transport coolers are also expected to be delivered that will be used for the city government’s vaccination operations. (PNA)
