The Vaccine Operations Center (VOC) is eyeing three malls here as vaccination sites once the mass inoculation activity kicks off in this city.

Lawyer Floro Casas Jr., Cebu City administrator, said in a press briefing on Wednesday the management of the malls have offered spaces to be used as vaccination venues.

The city is intensifying its preparation for the mass vaccination following the arrival of initial batch of vaccines on Tuesday and the additional doses expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

Casas told the media that operators of these malls have been communicating with the local government, without citing a final plan.

He also noted that the VOC is in talks with churches, schools and gyms to be used as vaccination centers.

“We need convenient sites because those who will be vaccinated need to stay for a while for observation on the effect of the vaccine to the body,” the official said in Cebuano. “That’s why we are making sure to find comfortable places.”

Mayor Edgardo Labella said the VOC, which is run by the Vaccine Board, has been conducting a survey among the healthcare workers here to identify those who are willing to be administered with the already available vaccines.

“Even now, they (VOC) continue preparing for the vaccination sites and ensuring the smooth implementation of the vaccination program,” the mayor said in the local dialect.

The government-run Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) is set to conduct a ceremonial vaccination to its healthcare workers on Thursday.

Cebu received on Tuesday the initial 7,200 doses of the Sinovac vaccines donated by the Chinese government.

Labella said the healthcare workers in the city will be given the freedom to choose which vaccine brand they want to receive.

He said the city government is ready to purchase its own vaccines once it gets approval from the national government and regulatory authorities. (PNA)