The head of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) here on Monday said the city government is ready to receive the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines.

Councilor Joel Garganera said the city has readied its storage facility where they can keep the vaccines at its required temperature before the massive inoculation starts this month.

Garganera said transport facilities are also being prepared for the distribution of the vaccines to clustered barangays. The city has 80 barangays which will be clustered into three or more.

The EOC, he said, has been educating Cebuanos on the importance of getting the vaccines now while the national government is working hard for the recovery of the country’s economy.

He said the city government is confident that they can muster enough number of residents who will submit to the inoculation process.

“These vaccines need to be administered on time. If we fail to administer them within the proper period, we stand to lose the vaccines to wastage. Government fund will also be wasted,” Garganera said in Cebuano in a radio interview.

He said city has been collecting profiles of individuals who will be prioritized in the initial roll out of the vaccination program.

In his visit to Cebu last month, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said Metro Cebu will get its vaccine allocation by the third or fourth week of February.

Andanar said healthcare workers, senior citizens, and indigents will be prioritized in the first roll out.

However, Garganera said the city will also prioritize the working class in the economic sector for the vaccination program.

“Let’s make other countries as a model. They are working hard to recover from the economic downturn due to the pandemic. Let’s make sure that our working class and those who belong to the economic sector will become immune to Covid-19,” he said.

Aside from the logistical preparation, the councilor said the city will give ample training to barangay health workers who will be tapped for the massive vaccination activities in this capital city.

The city allocated PHP500 million for the purchase of the vaccines.

Moderna and Pfizer are the preferred vaccines in the city. However, Mayor Edgardo Labella said last month he was willing to be the first to get vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine once the medicine from China becomes available here. (PNA)