The City Government of Davao, through the Davao COVID-19 Task Force, welcomes the initiative of the Lanang Premier Doctors Hospital Inc. (LPDHI) to launch its drive-thru vaccination in November as a way to help the city’s COVID-19 response.
Davao COVID-19 Task Force Spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser, in a Viber interview, said the drive-thru vaccination is an effort of the new hospital.
“But as per the Vaccine Cluster, wala pay (there is still no) tentative date but it will be open to the general public,” she said.
Dr. Schlosser said all initiatives from the private sector are welcome considering that the fight against COVID-19 is a collaborative effort of everybody.
The city health official said, “Gina welcome nato mga ingon ana (We welcome that). We have been doing that with the previous sectoral vaccination rollout. We have invited sectors to roll out vaccination for their employees.”
LPDHI has already hosted several vaccination drives since March this year, in partnership with the City Health Office (CHO) and various private organizations and companies, that catered to over 5,000 individuals who have been fully vaccinated.
However, the in-house vaccinations were halted since the hospital began its actual operations in July 2021.
“But seeing how crucial vaccination is in the fight against COVID-19, our Chairman, President, and CEO, Mr. Lemuel R. Podador, came up with the idea of a drive-vaccination set-up. He had been closely following news on the establishment of the Mega Drive-Thru Vaccination Site at the Nayong Pilipino, and envisioned a similar set-up that our hospital can accommodate,” LPDHI Vice President for Operations Paul Ryan Salazar told the City Information Office (CIO) in an e-mail interview.
He said that while LPDHI is expanding its outpatient and inpatient services, they also aim for a successful implementation of the drive-thru vaccination initiative, considering that it will be the first of its kind in Mindanao. They also made sure to address the needs of all their patients in the hospital.
LPDHI, according to him, has the space for the drive-thru vaccination and saw it as an opportunity to continue helping the city.
“We felt that the convenience offered by a drive-thru site will be enough motivation for more people to get vaccinated,” Salazar said.
They researched what was done in Nayong Pilipino and thought of having a similar setup but not as grand or vast in scope and capacity. “But we believe that every little bit counts when it comes to the goal of reaching herd immunity,” he said
LPDHI’s drive-thru vaccination program is expected to function as all other government, public, and private sites. Only those who have pre-registered through the Safe Davao QR platform will be accommodated and walk-ins will not yet be catered to. Counseling and screening will be conducted before the actual vaccination followed by the period of observation for any side effects.
Salazar added, “The only difference is that vaccinees will experience the vaccination process in the comfort of their vehicles.”
LPDHI, which will also be featured as among the vaccination site options available at the Safe Davao QR platform, has proposed its plan to the City Government of Davao through the office of City Administrator Atty. Zuleika Lopez in late August 2021. A series of online meetings were held with other local government offices such as the City Health Office (CHO), City Transport and Traffic Management Office, and Human Resources Management Office (HRMO) for proper coordination on the logistics.
He also said LPDHI has proposed an initial operating schedule of 8 a.m. to 12 noon from Mondays to Fridays, serving 20 to 30 vaccinees per day.
“We intend to regularly review our operations. This will allow us to look at opportunities to improve our service. This may include expanding our operating time so that we can accommodate more vaccinees, especially if the demand increases, which we somewhat anticipate with the rollout of vaccination for children aged 12 to 17 years old,” Salazar said.
LPDHI is finalizing its logistics and manpower in light of the upcoming developments in the hospital’s expansion for patient services. CIO
