Around 50,000 data encoders will be needed for the planned three-day national vaccination drive against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) this month, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said.
The government will be conducting a nationwide mass vaccination, which targets to inoculate 5 million persons per day or 15 million individuals during its run, on Nov. 29 to Dec. 1.
DICT Undersecretary Emmanuel Caintic said the additional encoder will be deployed to help local government units (LGUs) with the encoding of vaccine recipients’ information.
“Kailangan natin ng mga almost 50,000 data encoders para matulungan ang ating mga LGUs lalung-lalo na sa mga lugar na kulang ang kanilang mga marunong mag-encode (We need almost 50,000 data encoders to help our LGUs especially in areas where they lack the ability to encode),” Caintic said in a public briefing Monday, Nov. 15.
“Open siya sa lahat, mayroon tayong sign-up, mayroon tayong training at mayroon tayong coordination na gagawin na maayos. Para ang datos pumasok sa ating vaccination operations center (He is open to everyone, they can sign-up, we have training and we have coordination to do as well. So that data will be uploaded to our vaccination operations center),” he added.
The DICT said it will post a sign-up sheet in the coming days for those willing to be trained data encoders, and to be assigned to LGUs for the upcoming three-day national vaccination drive.
Caintic urged LGUs to assign additional data encoders to fast-track the upload of vaccine recipients’ information as to avoid delays in the issuance of vaccine certificates.
“Ang malaking sanhi talaga is nasa mga data encoding. Nandoon man sa kanila ang datos, hindi pa nila nailagay sa system, hindi pa nila nailagay para mai-upload (The big reason really is in the data encoding. Even if they have the data, they haven't put it in the system, they haven't put it in for upload),” he said.
“Nasa mga 30 percent na naman ulit ang ating mga backlog ng ating mga LGUs (Our backlogs of our LGUs are about 30 percent again) he added.