The local government of Muntinlupa City has created the Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccination that will supervise the registration of people, conduct information campaigns, and ensure that vaccines are in good condition.
Mayor Jaime Fresnedi has issued Executive Order No. 2 creating the task force in preparation for the arrival of coronavirus disease vaccines.
He said “the availability of the vaccines from pharmaceutical companies based overseas have become a reality and the transportation thereof to Philippine shores, either through the grant from the National Government or from the direct purchase of the City Government of Muntinlupa, will commence and happen in a matter of weeks.”
The task force is mandated to conduct training to all information technology personnel in public and private health facilities for the vaccination registration process and recording, and “conduct data management of all records and patients' information details before, during and after vaccination.”
It will also provide mental health and psycho-social support to “identify signs of distress resulting from emotional, cognitive, social and physical reactions and behaviors relating to the pandemic and in the conduct of vaccination procedures.”
The city’s Public Information Office and Health Education and Promotion Officers of the City Health Office (CHO) are tasked to provide information to the public; “conduct promotion activities to public and private health facilities to generate demand and uptake for covid-19 vaccine among eligible population; and address the vaccine hesitancy and mistrust feelings and deportment, and encourage the public to continue covid-19 preventive actions.”
Staff from the CHO and Management Information System will check the quality and condition of the COVID-19 vaccines; ensure that “immunization supplies like diluent, syringes and safety collector boxes should be adequate, in good condition and should properly match the vaccines delivered.”
They are also mandated to “monitor and record the temperature of cold chain equipment two times a day, every day, except weekends and holidays, which presupposes that no access to the refrigerators and/or freezers have been made during such time.”
In addition, they will ensure that the cold chain facility and equipment are in good condition and “that vaccines are handled and disposed correctly and properly, including reverse logistics.”
The Muntinlupa City government has allotted P170 million for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.
In a recent survey, 53.86 percent of Muntinlupa residents said they were willing to be vaccinated while 10.75 percent said “no” and the remaining respondents did not answer.
Of the 1,137 residents who said “yes” to the vaccination, 618 or 54.35 percent, chose the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine while 373 or 32.8 percent preferred the AstraZeneca vaccine.