A CITY official is pushing for the appropriation of P500,000 for the procurement of pneumonia vaccine.
Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda said the spike in the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in Baguio City calls for urgent and aggressive action to curb the transmission of the virus.
"Covid-19 creates a potentially devastating impact on people and the economy. Thus, there is a need to implement measures available on hand that offer a level of protection and against wider infection. While no vaccine has been developed yet against Covid-19 up to the present, the anti-pneumococcal vaccine, or anti-pneumonia vaccine has been available for a long time and is being used worldwide to prevent/destroy the bacteria or reduce the severity of the disease," she said.
In her proposed ordinance, which was approved on first reading, Tabanda said the anti-pneumococcal vaccine increases the production of anti-bodies and boosts the immune system.
"The coronavirus disease was originally called novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia (NCIP) until the World Health Organization renamed it to Covid-19. Recognizing the positive effects of the anti-pneumonia vaccine as a shield against the Covid-19 when injected into the body, the City Council approved Resolution 330, series of 2020, requesting the Department of Health and the City Health Services Office to procure anti-flu and anti-pneumonia vaccines for adults and conduct a massive vaccination drive through the district health centers in the City of Baguio," he said.
Under the proposed ordinance, the vaccine shall be administered by the Health Services Office through its district health centers. The same office is tasked to formulate the guidelines on the dispensation and administration of the vaccine.
Funds for the vaccine will be sourced from any available funds of the city.