After successfully vaccinating 3,000 Davao Association of Catholic Schools (DACS) personnel and other essential workers in the A4 priority group yesterday, Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) Executive Vice President (EVP) Jeremy S. Eliab shared that partner schools commended AdDU for having a swift and systematic vaccination process, despite it being the first time for AdDU.

“We heard feedback coming already from other DACS schools and they sent gratitude, congratulations, because they experienced an organized vaccination process… well, some of them finished in a matter of 22 minutes so it’s [in part] a feat also for us. 

“And then we just noticed also that we can vaccinate around… 1,200 a day. So that’s more or less 150 per hour. That’s how fast we are, while other vaccination sites in the city, they can only vaccinate 500 a day,” Eliab told Atenews.

The City Government identified AdDU as a vaccination site for DACS schools, and the University had two batches administered, with the first held last July 2-3 and the second on July 9-10 (READ: AdDU faculty, staff get their first COVID-19 jabs).

AdDU rolled out 1,300 vaccine doses for the first batch and 1,700 for the second batch, which were all administered in the four days.

While DACS and other non-Catholic schools’ personnel were given priority, Eliab shared that they also catered to non-DACS essential workers, such as those from the banks and stores within the vicinity of AdDU to finish all 3,000 doses and avoid spoilage.

“We have to [finish all doses] kasi sayang ang vaccine. Otherwise, you have to return the vaccine, and then sometimes if you don’t return the vaccine and you store it here, there are spoilage, so sayang. So as much as possible, if we have excess doses, we invite other people to walk in and be vaccinated as long as they are [part of the] A4… We just called them so that we [can] vaccinate them with the excess doses that we have,” he said.

The EVP said AdDU is committed to give the second dose to both batches, which will be after 28 to 34 days or three weeks. He recently posted on his Facebook profile that they plan to administer the second dose rollout within the first and second weeks of August.

When asked about the University’s plans for student vaccination, Eliab said that they do not have concrete plans yet, following the prioritization of the national government in the vaccine rollout.

“The students will be somewhere at B [priority group]… so we have to wait until that sector is being prioritized by the government, that’s the time that we have to plan what will happen to our students. Will the government be able to vaccinate them? Will the government tap also the schools to help them vaccinate the students? That we have still to know,” he said.

Appreciating AdDU’s ‘welcoming’ environment, Davao Christian High School teacher Derly Dayanan-Fernandez told Atenews that she chose to be vaccinated at AdDU because of her co-teachers’ good experience.

“I chose here in AdDU kasi sabi ng mga co-teachers ko na nauna na sa akin, here in AdDU daw parang ‘VIP treatment’. Which [is] true naman talaga, kasi nga sa labasan pa lang very maasikaso sila. Plus, ang mga staff din dito, very welcoming, and mga nurses, mga health staff, ay masyado silang friendly. And thumbs up ‘yung kanilang counseling. So ‘yung kulba nimo, mawala jud siya,” she said.