THE Department of Health (DOH), through the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), will allocate Covid-19 vaccines to the local government units following the prioritization list, Acting City Health Officer Dr. Lorraine Nery said Wednesday, January 13, 2021.
"I believe sa kani nga statement, naa gyud programa nga himoon ang Department of Health regarding this one kay ang una nga nakasulod ani is the DOH man will allocate the vaccines to the LGUs," Nery said.
"Wala gyud na explicitly nasulti pero following na sa mga statement ani, nakita nato nga ang DOH gyud ang mag una during the purchasing ani," she added.
According to Nery, it was stated during the webinar with the Food and Drug Administration's procedures on the EUA of the Covid-19 vaccines that if the local government units (LGUs) need to acquire additional vaccines, the DOH can designate the LGUs as part of the program.
She further said LGUs will also have to commit to the conditions of the EUA and the vaccination plan of the DOH including distribution deployment, implementation, assessment, evaluation and monitoring.
City Mayor Oscar Moreno, for his part, said it will be a challenge of the DOH to distribute the vaccines to the barangay level as the health department does not have an office at the municipal level. As such, the DOH has to coordinate with the LGUs.
"Ang akong gapangitaon is ang more pronounced involvement sa DOH labi na sa planning kay mas grabe ang ilang expertise. Ang problema lang gyud sa DOH, wala sila'y presensya sa municipal level, naa ra man sila taman sa regional level," Moreno said.
"Ang the way things stand now, although kini being an important health issue, we should expect that the LGUs will be active bisan og DOH ang magdala," he added.
Moreno also assured that the city is "very much on top of the ball" as the city government's target is to achieve the best plan for the vaccination rollout which could be replicated in other parts of the country.