Local Government Units (LGUs) have continuously intensified their preparations in anticipation of the arrival of more coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in the country this month, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said Monday night, June 7.
In a briefing with the President, Año noted that 29,384 personnel are deployed in the country’s emergency operations center while 36,037 are assigned in the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERT).
To complement this workforce, Año said that 34,046 individuals are working their way to ensure the public’s adherence to the various safety protocols for the management of the COVID-19 infections while 28,210 personnel are assigned in the country’s quarantine facilities.
As part of the preparation for the vaccination monitoring system, Año revealed that the LGUs have ensured that there are enough vaccination centers, cold chain storage and transportation to ferry the COVID-19 vials to their respective destinations.
At present, Año said there are 2,536 vaccination centers that can be used by the LGUs for the rollout of the COVID-19 dose.
He added that there are also 1,676 cold storage facilities with 134 such amenities that may be used by the LGUs when the need arises.
The DILG chief revealed that 3,496 land transportation, 68 air freights and 380 sea vessels are ready to be used for the delivery of the thousands of COVID-19 vaccines that the country stands to receive.
“Ngayon ang panahon ng pagbabakuna (COVID-19) at tinatawagan natin ang ating LGUs na muli magbigay ng fast lane, green lane, or express lane sa ating mga A1, A2, A3, habang nagbabakuna na rin tayo ng mga A4 (At this time of the vaccination, we are calling the LGUs to provide the fast lane, green lane or express lane for our A1, A2, A3 while those in the A4 category are being inoculated),’’ Año said.