More than 300 healthcare workers in Quezon City have already completed the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination training.
Mayor Joy Belmonte said 318 health-care workers went through the comprehensive training on the deployment and management of COVID-19 vaccine led by the national government.
“We are grateful for the Department of Health for working closely with us in the city. Our collective goal is to make sure that the city is fully ready once the vaccines arrive, and that we will have a seamless vaccine deployment to avoid any untoward incident and vaccine wastage,” she said.
The training covers the basics of vaccines, storage, and handling and monitoring of patients for any adverse events following immunization, setting up vaccination sites and communicating with communities, among others.
Dr. Esperanza Arias, city health officer, said the city government would in turn provide similar training for health-care professionals from the city’s 48 private hospitals.
“All health workers who were identified as potential vaccinators, such as doctors and nurses, from these hospitals will receive training and assistance from us. Each batch will undergo 2 days of training to cover all areas of our vaccine deployment plan,” she said.
Any individual who is interested to volunteer as vaccinators would also be screened and trained by the City Health Department.
“All volunteers are welcome as we need more hands on deck. They may express their interest and contact us via the official Facebook page of the city health for this purpose,” Arias said.
The city government is ready to kick off its vaccination program once the allocated vaccine for the city has arrived, particularly the 5.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility.
Arias said the vaccines are expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2021.