The Quezon City government has intensified preparations of an initial 24 coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) inoculation sites.

Officials from the Quezon City Health Department and Zuellig Pharmaceutical Company, together with the City Engineering Department, General Services Department, and Information Technology Development Department led the inspection of triage areas.

The chosen vaccination sites are all public schools, because these are the most strategic and efficient venues for the inoculation.

“Schools have ample space to ensure the free movement of personnel and to implement social distancing. They are also the nearest venues from our health centers, where the vaccines coming from Zuellig to our cold storage facility will be stored,” Mayor Joy Belmonte explained.

Each inoculation site will have a waiting area, registration area, counselling area, screening area, vaccination room, and observation room.

QC and Zuellig also made sure that each vaccination site has a unidirectional workflow or one entry and one exit, and comfort rooms.

The site, specifically from the waiting area to the screening area, should be well-ventilated. Separate rooms will be made available  for the vaccination and observation of the patient after receiving the dose.

According to QC Health Department Chief Dr. Esperanza Anita Escaño-Arias, the vaccine is very sensitive so it cannot be exposed to direct sunlight.

“To avoid wastage of the vaccine, the vaccination itself should take place in a covered facility. The vaccine is very sensitive lalo na kapag naarawan,” Dr. Arias said.

Twenty-two employees will be designated per vaccination site. Each team is composed of physicians, marshals, vaccinators, counselors, and admin staff.

There will also be a generator set on standby, and an ambulance from the Barangay Health Emergency and Response Team (BHERT).

Aside from the schools, more sites will be added as the city finalizes its talks with the Diocese of Cubao and Diocese of Novaliches who offered their parishes as inoculation venues.

The city government is set to vaccinate 1.05 million citizens initially based on the prioirity listing given by the Department of Health. The list includes public and private healthcare workers, barangay frontliners, senior citizens, persons with disability, uniformed personnel, and indigent families.

QC earlier signed a tripartite agreement with the national government through the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines.

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