MORE THAN 12,500 individuals received their first jabs as IT-BPM industry sector-led vaccination rollout ended with first doses and 4,967 with second doses in six batches.
The volunteer-based vaccination, held in partnership with ICT Davao Inc., the city government of Davao through the City Health Office (CHO), and the Vaccine Cluster of the Davao City COVID-19 Task Force on Sept. 10 and 12 at the University of Mindanao (UM) Matina, saw 2,812 getting their first jabs of the Pfizer anti-COVID-19 vaccine.
BPO Association of Davao Inc. president Eric Manalastas told the City Information Office (CIO) that they failed to hit their target.
“The target was 25,000 but it was not achieved due to the following factors: some companies bought their vaccines already; many employees got vaccinated in the city’s vaccination sites, and many employees still refused to be vaccinated,” he said.
He also said that they will no longer hold another vaccination activity since the city’s online vaccination scheduler is already operational and there are several vaccination sites already being set up.
Of the 12,550 first dose vaccinees, 1,711 were jabbed with Sinovac on June 30 to July 1 at Felcris Centrale; 1,998 also got Sinovac first jabs on July 14 to 16 at SM City Davao; 2,240 received AstraZeneca first doses on July 19 to 21 at Felcris Centrale; 1,639 had first Sinovac doses on July 28 to 30 at NCCC Mall Buhangin; 2,150 got Sinovac first jabs on Aug. 20 to 22 at UM Matina.
Meanwhile, of the 4,967 fully-vaccinated individuals, 1,644 received their second Sinovac doses on July 29-31 at Felcris Centrale; 1,836 were inoculated with second Sinovac jabs on Aug. 11 to 13 at SM City Davao, and 1,487 Sinovac second doses were also administered on Aug. 27 to 29 at NCCC Mall Buhangin.
BPO companies sent their volunteers to these vaccination rollout programs. They provided company nurses or nurses from a third-party health care group as vaccinators and also spearheaded the post-vaccine monitoring. The vaccines were provided by the city government of Davao.
Their initiative, he said, was aimed at supporting and helping the city government of Davao fast-track the rollout. “We vaccinated some other seniors and household members, relatives, and dependents of BPO employees,” Manalastas added.
According to the City Information Office, Lola Julia Gancio, 93, was among those who got jabbed on the last day of the final batch of the Vacc2Normal program at UM Matina Gym on Sept. 12. She is the oldest of the 16 senior citizens who got a jab on that day.
Davao COVID-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser earlier cited the private sector, particularly BPO companies, for their support not just in the city’s vaccination program but also in contact tracing.
BPO firms have recorded a high number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started. But with their close coordination with the city government and their company initiatives, COVID-19 cases have significantly dropped in recent months.
