FOLLOWING the commotion that happened outside a vaccination hub in Calinan, Davao City, an official from the Covid-19 Task Force urged the public to report anomalies in the vaccination hubs, including the continuous acceptance of walk-ins despite being prohibited by the local government.
Photos and videos circulated online on Tuesday, August 10, 2021, showing people queuing disorderly outside Calinan Central Elementary School, where physical distancing was no longer properly observed.
Saisai, who requested to withhold her name, one of the uploaders of the video, told SunStar Davao in an online interview via Messenger that she was outside the vaccination hub as early as 2 a.m. She is a resident of Barangay Saloy, which is around 18 kilometers away from the vaccination hub based on Google Maps app.
She said they registered for vaccination in the barangay since vaccination through the Safe Davao QR (DQR) Code is not possible due to the weak internet signal in their area.
“Nakapalista man gud mi sa barangay daan. Tapos nagsayo mi kay mao ang instruction sa amoa kay para maapil mi sa 750 slots. So dapat daw magsayo mi. Pero pag-abot namo, naa pa diay mas nauna namo, mga 1 a.m. pa. Pero ang ending, ang hayag na nangabot mao pay kusog mudutdot ug mangtulak,” Saisai said.
(We were already enlisted [for vaccination] in the barangay. We were instructed to go early to be included in the 750 slots. When we arrived there, there were already other people who were way ahead of us as early as 1 a.m. In the end, those who arrived very late were the ones jumping the line and who aggressively push those in the front.)
She said those who jumped the line are walk-ins or those who had no prior appointment.
“Daghan kaayo og walk in. Gikan pa mi og bukid, nagbaba lang tungod kay naka-sched mi. Kadaghanan sa mga sayo sa vaccination site gikan pa sa mga lagyong lugar, ug ing-ani ra diay ang dagan,” she said.
(There were many walk-ins. We did not expect that this would be the system. We went down from our far-flung area because we were supposedly scheduled to be vaccinated today. Many went early at the vaccination site, who also came from far barangays.)
She said, as expected, the commotion and the walk-ins took away her chance to be vaccinated for her first dose on that day. She left the site after not making it to the cutoff.
Robert, also not his real name, blamed barangay and the vaccination organizers for the disarray.
“Kung tarong ra ang pagdumala nila, wa unta ni nahitabo. Luoy kaayo mga tao labi na mga naay comorbidities. Imbes mabakunahan, mao pa nuon kini makapatay sa ila tungod mangatakod silag Covid-19,” he said.
(If they only managed it properly, this would not have happened. I feel sorry for those people, especially those with comorbidities. Instead of being vaccinated, it might even cause their death as they might be infected with Covid-19.)
Covid-19 Task Force spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser said the city government immediately deployed security personnel from the response cluster to secure the public from the commotion.
Despite the measures being laid down, she admitted it can be difficult to control the crowd.
Schlosser told vaccinees who are already registered and have their schedule that they are not obliged to go to their respective vaccination site as early as dawn.
"Di man gyud necessary na magsayo og maayo sa vaccination site kay mag-open atong vaccination site, naa scheduled of time. Usually mag-open sila og 7:30 or 8 a.m. Dili necessary na muadto didto og alas singko, alas sais kay gusto mauna sa pila," she said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio on Wednesday.
(It’s not necessary that they have to line up as early as dawn. They can go there at their scheduled time. Usually, our sites open around 7:30 or 8 a.m. It is not necessary that you line up as early as 5 or 6 a.m.)
She also urged the public not to gather around as this might put them at risk.
She said those who already have their schedule will be prioritized in the vaccination.
"If schedule ninyo anang adlaw, definitely matagaan gyud mo basta muadto mo sa atong specified time nga open ang vaccination site,” Schlosser said.
(If you are scheduled to be vaccinated on that day, definitely, you will be jabbed as long as you go to the specified time when the vaccination site will be open.)
When asked about the allegations that some vaccination hubs allow walk-ins, the spokesperson urged complainants to submit concrete evidence to help the city solve this problem.
She added complainants can take photos or videos, name of the personnel from the vaccination hub, and report to authorities for concrete documentation
"Kung mahitabo or nahitabo man na (if this indeed happened), please notify us, give us proper documentation and evidences, and we will make sure, the Covid-19 Task Force of the local government of Davao, the City Health Office, magtinabangay ta na i-stop ni siya nga misregulation or ang mali nga activity (let us help one another in stopping misregulation or wrong activities) on the ground level,” Schlosser said.
She said violators will be investigated and might be removed from their designation.
Schlosser said she suspected that some vaccinees would troop to vaccination sites because they heard that these sites are accepting walk-ins due to their eagerness to be vaccinated.
Schlosser reiterated that the city does not allow walk-ins to avoid mass gatherings.
For vaccinees who have problems in the registration process due to limited internet access, the official said they can reach out to their respective Barangay Health Emergency Response Team for their assistance.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio reiterated that the city is abiding by the prioritization group set by the Department of Health (DOH) due to the limited supply of vaccines.
"The reason why ngano naa ginapagawas ang DOH na priority list nga A1, A2, A3, A4, [ug] A5 because there are not enough vaccines for all of us," Duterte-Carpio said on Monday.
The mayor also added that the vaccination sites in the city have a limited capacity to cater to the vaccinees.