Naga, OVP to immunize 6K in NagaVax Express

By Jason B. Neola

After setting up the swab cab that continue to serve Nagueños now numbering more than 1,000, the Naga City government and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) have partnered once again for the conduct of a mass vaccination activity dubbed NagaVax Express.

The Naga City government and the OVP have identified five vaccination sites and more than a hundred volunteers for its NagaVax Express, which is going to be held on Friday and Saturday, July 23-24.

Some 6,000 doses of Janssen’s single-shot Covid-19 vaccines are expected to be delivered to the city on July 22, a day before the scheduled mass inoculation of individuals who belong to four priority groups, namely:

The student clerks and interns on going duty in hospitals, and personnel and staff of higher education institutions (HEIs) clinics and hospital; OFWs awaiting deployment within the next four months; senior citizens, and; persons with comorbidity.

Vaccinees who belong to any of such groups and are formally advised by the city gvernment of their respective jab schedules are expected to go the newly established vaccination sites on Juy 23-24 to have themselves injected with Janssen Covid-19 vaccines which, according to Dr. Vito Borja, city health officer and chairperson of the Health Emergency Response Task Force, carries 90 percent efficacy.

Mayor Nelson Legacion said the identified vax sites are Pacol Urban Covered Court for vaccinees from Panicuason, Carolina, Pacol, and San Isidro; Camarines Sur National High School for those who are from Bagumbayan Sur, Bagumbayan Norte, San Felipe, Peñafrancia, Liboton, and Calauag;

Holy Rosary Major Seminary for residents of Barangay Del Rosario, Concepcion Pequeña, Concepcion Grande, and Cararayan; Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum for those living in Balatas, Tinago, Dayangdang, Lerma, Triangulo, Dinaga, San

Francisco, OFWs and medical students;

University of Nueva Caceres for those who are from Abella, Sta. Cruz, Mabolo, Tabuco, Sabang, and Igualdad.

The OVP will oversee the vaccination at the Carolina Elementary School, Camarines Sur National High School, and Holy Rosary Major Seminary while a team from the City Health Office and Naga City Hospital will attend to vaccinees at the Naga City Mega Vaccination Site (Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum) and University of Nueva Caceres.

Legacion clarified that no walk-in vaccinee will be accommodated in any of the vax sites as he encouraged everyone to register online at their respective barangay halls or thru covidvax.naga.gov.ph.

Raffy Magno, chief of the OVP’s Area and Constituency Concerns Division, said the 130 volunteers they organized will help in administering the vax jabs that need to be expeditiously and efficiently undertaken. “Most of them are nurses working at different institutions in the city while more than 25 are doctors,” he said.

Both the OVP and Naga City government like to send the message to the national government and the Inter Agency Task Force that the city has the capability to manage and conduct vaccination with such number of vaccinees in two days.

The vaccines are products of Johnson & Johnson, which obtained an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.