THE QUEZON City (QC) local government unit (LGU) has been utilizing the Ateneo Grade School (AGS) cafeteria as a COVID-19 vaccination site to inoculate hundreds of eligible QC residents since May.
Under the mandate of the national government, the vaccination site was first made available to those who belong to priority groups A1, A2, and A3. These refer to medical frontline workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities aged 18 to 59 respectively. Additionally, the QC LGU has also begun vaccinating frontline personnel in essential sectors under the A4 priority group.
The AGS cafeteria was deemed an ideal location for mass vaccine operations due to its wide-open spaces that allow for good air circulation. Likewise, the areas surrounding the AGS cafeteria allow ample space for patients to wait in line before getting vaccinated.
According to the University website, eligible QC residents could register for inoculation through the eZConsult mobile application, which is available on both Google Play and the App Store. During registration, users secured their vaccination site by selecting “Ateneo de Manila – Grade School Cafeteria Vaccination site (Gate 2).” Eligible QC residents could also schedule their vaccinations through assisted booking appointments in their respective barangays.
Those who have confirmed their slots were then allowed to enter the venue on their scheduled date, strictly through Gate 2 of the Loyola Heights campus only. Walk-ins were strictly not accepted for efficiency and the safety of both patients and volunteers.
Aside from patients, professors and students of the University’s School of Medicine and Public Health served as volunteers in the AGS cafeteria to assist the patients.
According to the University, this initiative was part of the Ateneo’s concrete response to the pandemic. This vaccination site operates in conjunction with the University’s other COVID-19 projects such as the drive-through and walk-through reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing facility BlueSwab and the University Vaccination Program for Ateneo employees that launched last August 3.
