Private-public partnership boosts Davao City vax program

DAVAO CITY – The three-day Partners Vaccination Program here ended Sunday with three groups supporting the city’s target to inoculate at least 1.2 million individuals to achieve population protection.

Arfe Gavilanes of the Davao Christian High School Alumni Association Inc. thanked Gaisano Mall and the Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Davao for partnering with them.

“Since we have the network, they tapped us. We will make sure that they will religiously follow their schedule for the second dose,” he told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an interview on Saturday night.

Aside from hesitancy, Gavilanes said one of the biggest challenges of the vaccine rollout is to make sure the recipients return for the second dose.

The alumni association has already vaccinated 3,000 so far, including those from the initial rollout two weeks ago that covered health care workers, the elderly, adults with comorbidities, and economic front-liners.

“We also cater to walk-ins who are qualified under priority groups,” Gavilanes added.

Lawyer Erastus Sandino Austria, District Collector of BOC-Davao, said they collaborated with the alumni association for a wider reach.

The venue and facilities, like computers, were offered for free, according to Joseph Jeffrey Sy Uy, Gaisano Mall senior marketing manager.

“We work with socially responsible organizations with a network of connections with smaller businesses,” he said.

Uy bared that since May, the mall has been a partner of the City Health Office in vaccinating residents of the Third District (Baguio, Calinan, Marilog, Toril and, Tugbok).

“We found out that the business community had a need for venues and facilities to conduct vaccination for their front-liners so we offered it to them. We just ask our partners to provide the medical teams,” he said. (PNA)

Agencies