Prepare Vaccination Plan: Experts to LGUs

With the COVID-19 vaccination to occur very soon, health experts urged Local Government Units (LGU)s in the Philippines to prepare vaccination plans in order to organize everything and avoid further vaccination-related conflicts.

“Our conversation now should already shift to vaccine education. We should now be talking about this,” said Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Bryan Albert Lim

Lim emphasized that this vaccination is a serious subject and it should not be taken for granted.

He further added that people shall not “demonize” specific vaccine brands since they need to go through certain approvals from the government.

Lim admitted that the Philippines, just like any country will have to face a tough challenge since the global vaccine supply is limited. However, the Philippine government is now negotiating with vaccine suppliers.

Dr. Jaime Bernadas, regional director of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) and Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, chief pathologist of DOH-8, echoed Lim’s call for educating the public on the importance of vaccines.

To achieve herd immunity, the government targets that 70 percent of the population will be vaccinated, according to Dr. Bernadas.

Loreche then pointed out the importance of educating people and the need to cascade the information about vaccination. They also urged local government units to plan for the vaccination program, including storage and distribution, as it is crucial in the country’s vaccination program.

He also called on LGUs that have prepared funds for their vaccine purchase, to work closely with the national government regarding their procurement.

The government may issue an Emergency Authorization Use (EAU) to a vaccine brand to make it readily available for public use. (MLC)