DAVAO CITY—The Catholic archdiocese of Davao City has appealed for medical volunteers as it approved the “noble efforts” of priests to put up parish-based vaccination centers.
In his Circular 30 issued on August 7, Archbishop Romulo G. Valles appealed to “our parishioners, our friends and benefactors to assist the parish in terms of helping out in the campaign for needed volunteers mentioned above and to assist in seeing to it that the material items mentioned above will be available and ready for the vaccination to be conducted in the parish.”
Among the personnel and items need to install the vaccination centers in the parishes were the following: professional medical volunteers (doctors, nurses, medical technologists, pharmacists, etc.); other volunteers to do the work of ushering, registration, validation of vaccine-related documents, screening, counselling, etc.; meals and snacks and other items like bottled water for the volunteers; and computer laptops, electric fans, etc. to be used during the actual vaccination.
Valles said the volunteers would be oriented and trained by the City Health Office Vaccination Team.
The appeal was aired alongside his endorsement of “the noble efforts of the priests in the parishes and the parish staff to organize this Parish-Based Vaccination Center.”
“Early on this year, in these difficult times of the pandemic, we have expressed as an archdiocese our willingness to be of assistance to our city government and our City Health Office in the effort to bring vaccination to as many people as quickly as possible,” he said.
He said the City Health Office has started to partner with some of their parishes and in July 31, one vaccination center was established in the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Barrio Obrero, where 686 people were vaccinated on that day.
Meanwhile, the city’s mobile vaccination team vaccinated the first batch of 76 senior citizens when this program on vaccination on wheels was launched on Friday last week.
The City Health Office said the vaccinated senior citizens lived in geriatric home facilities, or the homes for the elderly. These were in Care for Elderly Foundation in Biao Guianga, Tugbok, Hope Integrated Care Assisted Living in Catalunan Pequeño, Co Su Gian Home for the Aged in Cabantian, Buhangin, Country View Assisted Living Facility along Tacunan Road in Tugbok, Happy Heart Caring Hands Foundation at Purok Carnagan in Bayabas-Eden Road, Toril, Golden Haven Retirement Home Inc. in Puting Bato, Riverside, Calinan District, and PLEKS Good Shepherd Care Home at Gulfview Executive Subdivision in Bago Aplaya, Talomo District.
The city put up the mobile vaccination program to reach out to more senior citizens, who number to as many as 300,000. As of August 6, only 79,039 senior citizens received their first vaccine dose and 54,065 got their second shots.
The program was intended to assist the elderly who may not be capable of going to the vaccination centers or who may have just changed their minds in taking the vaccines.
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has appealed to city councilors at the Sangguniang Panlungsod to come up with their own mobile vaccination teams saying the City Hall has been exhausted with its manpower.
“We have one already, which will pilot their vaccination in Los Amigos relocation area, to target the A5 [or indigents] and then the PWD Gawad Kalinga Village to target the persons with comorbidities,” she said. “They will be sought out for the vaccination and not the other way around.”