First Parish-Based Vaccination Hub Opens in Sacred Heart

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Barangay Obrero is the first parish-based mass vaccination hub in the city. It rolled out vaccines to 700 pre-listed individuals last July 31, 2021. Six hundred eighty-six (686) were inoculated with the first dose of Covid -19 vaccines out of 700 pre-listed individuals or a total of 98%.

Forty-nine professional medical volunteers offered help to serve the vaccination activity comprising 19 doctors, 27 nurses, and three pharmacists from both government and private hospitals, government agencies and corporate industries. The medical team formed ten teams to sit on the screening and counseling, vaccination area, and post-vaccination and monitoring areas.

The parish itself is a suitable venue for the said activity as its dome-type structure helps a lot for the vaccination process to flow smoothly and orderly. The flow is repeatedly assessed and, in fact, a dry-run activity was conducted to avoid uncertainties in the steps and to identify the number of volunteers needed for the entire flow which include entrance, attendance and validation, registration, screening and counseling, vaccination, post-vaccination and monitoring, and exit. Also, a series of meetings were conducted for the needed logistics.

Meanwhile, Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, DD, expressed his sincere congratulations and was incredibly thankful through a video message for the collaborative efforts made by the government, private sector, and the church. Bishop Valles further stated his sincere and warm gratitude “for every effort to work together to combat this pandemic.”

Fr. Emmanuel “Bong” Gonzaga, Parish Priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, was overwhelmed by the unending support of the individuals who shared their talents, time, and treasure. They outright approved the proposal of conducting such a significant activity which he thought would be impossible due to the priorities of the parish volunteers. ‘’I did not expect the efforts made by the volunteers, members of the different parish ministries, mandated parish organizations, government agencies, private sectors, and religious groups. I did not expect this would turn out smooth and successful,” Fr. Bong said. The basis for conducting this activity is a letter from the Most Reverend Bishop Valles sent to all parish priests of the Archdiocese of Davao to offer the church facilities as vaccination centers as this is the church’s contribution to ending this pandemic. (Gresiel E. Ferrando, Hannah Althea A. Panero, Shan Cai I. Bagay)