The San Juan city government on Tuesday held a public presentation of “an easy and convenient process” of its Covid-19 vaccine registration for its residents.

In a media briefing, Mayor Francis Zamora said the initiative is part of the city government’s preparation for the availability of Covid-19 vaccines.

He said residents may sign up through online registration or visit their respective barangay halls or health centers for manual registration.

The local government has approved city ordinance no. 75 s. 2020 that will allocate a PHP50-million standby fund for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.

Zamora said he is confident that the allotted budget to buy vaccines “will be more than enough to vaccinate the entire population of San Juan city.”

“Based on the 2015 census, San Juan has 122,000 (residents), so the allocation is more than enough since the national government will also allocate funds to LGUs,” he said.

Zamora said the local government has ongoing talks with the national government and pharmaceutical companies to sign a tripartite agreement to secure access to Covid-19 vaccines for its constituents.

He assured residents of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines for all.

“Pipiliin natin yung bakuna na mataas ang efficacy, reputasyon, at acceptance sa tao at pasok sa local at international standards para hindi matakot ang ating mga mamamayan at maging mataas ang porsyento ng mga gustong magpabakuna (We will choose a vaccine that has high efficacy, reputation and acceptance from the people as well as approved by the local and international standards wherein the high percentage of the population would like to be vaccinated),” said Zamora.

He added that residents who will voluntarily sign up will receive free Covid-19 vaccine shots. The vaccination will be done in phases, he said.

“We will be prioritizing health workers and front-liners to receive the vaccine first, then indigent senior citizens will soon follow,” he said.

As of Jan. 5, around 4,109 residents have already signed up for the online Covid-19 vaccine registration.

Some 5,000 residents have registered in their respective barangay halls and health centers.

“We just want to be prepared and set up an orderly and fast rollout and vaccination process to make sure all those who would like to be vaccinated can be vaccinated,” he said.

The local government targets to implement the city-wide vaccination program as early as April 2021. (PNA)