City Council approves Davao City's ordinance for COVID-19 immunization program


DAVAO CITY - The Davao City Council on Tuesday approved on third and final reading  the ordinance for the implementation of the city's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) immunization program.

In a statement from the City Information Office on Wednesday, Feb. 3 the city government said the ordinance, titled “An Ordinance For The Implementation of the COVID-19 Immunization Program of Davao City,” covers all residents of Davao City and non-residents within the territorial jurisdiction of the city during the effectivity of the program.

The age, gender, and other requirements will be based on the guidelines by the national government.

Under the Ordinance the City Health Office (CHO), along with the DOH Center for Health Development-Davao, is mandated to formulate a community-based COVID-19 immunization plan.

"The framework will have barangays and other community subsets as active partners in program execution to ensure thorough immunization coverage of persons, adequate and equitable access to the vaccine, and proper post-immunization attention and monitoring," the city government added.

It added that "a full assessment of the COVID-19 situation in the city will have to be conducted before the finalization of vaccine procurement, distribution, and administration plan to better implement the ordinance."

As the lead agency, the CHO is also given a mandate to train health workers for vaccine handling, storage, and administration. Meanwhile, the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) and community leaders shall actively assist the CHO in implementing the program.

The Ordinance also mandates  the use of the COVID-19 Electronic Immunization Registry (CEIR) as the official platform for master listing and registration for COVID-19 vaccination. 

"All health facilities in the city must submit their master lists through the CEIR, which the CHO will consolidate to prevent duplication," it said. 

After getting vaccinated, each person under the Ordinance, will receive an immunization card, showing the date of immunization, immunization round/dose received, and other details.

The guidelines of the Philippine National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 vaccines shall be followed:

Among those who were categorized under the Priority Eligible Group A are frontline health workers, indigent senior citizens, remaining senior citizens, remaining indigent population, and uniformed personnel.

Priority Eligible Group B includes all teachers and school workers, government workers, essential workers, Persons Deprived of Liberty, Persons With Disabilities, Indigenous People, Filipinos living in high-density areas, eligible students (primary, secondary, tertiary, and vocational),  Filipino migrant workers, and all remaining Filipino workforce as determined by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Those who do not belong to the first two groups shall compose Priority Eligible Group C. 

Meanwhile, the city’s COVID-19 immunization program shall exempt those who are "declared by a medical professional to have any allergies or found to exhibit adverse reactions to vaccines." 

People with prevailing medical conditions and advised to refrain from immunization will also be exempted.

The vaccination program shall also exempt "those who object based on religious and cultural grounds; those exempted as provided for by other laws or statutes; those who object based on philosophical grounds, those who choose not to be immunized; and those who have availed of or plan to avail of COVID-19 immunization through other means."

The city said the immunization program will run "until at least 70 to 85 percent of the city’s population are immunized to achieve herd immunity."