A doctor receives her first dose of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine at the Perpetual Succour Hospital on March 9, 2021. CDN Digital photo | Morexette Marie Erram
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Vaccination against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among healthcare workers from private hospitals in Metro Cebu has begun.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7), said 7,000 medical frontliners from privately owned hospitals agreed to be vaccinated with CoronaVac, the COVID-19 vaccine brand of China’s Sinovac.
Based on DOH-7’s tally, more than 7,000 vials of CoronaVac were already distributed to at least eight hospitals in Metro Cebu.
The breakdown are as follows:
1. Perpetual Succour Hospital – 1,200 doses
2. Cebu Doctors University Hospital (Main) – 1,584 doses
3. Chong Hua Hospital (Cebu City) – 2,468
4. Chong Hua Hospital (Mandaue City) – 1,111
5. South General Hospital – 414
6. North General Hospital – 364
7. Mactan Doctors Hospital – 560
On Tuesday, March 9, 2021, some privately owned hospitals held separate ceremonial vaccination drives for their respective workers.
Among those who took the first dose was Dr. Potenciano ‘Yong’ Larrazabal III, president of Cebu Doctors Group.
“This is just the beginning. Once all our front liners are already inoculated, we also hope to roll out our supplementary vaccination for our family members. We will also be extending assistance to the different LGUs (local government units) in Cebu for the vaccination of the Cebuanos,” said Larrazabal in a statement sent to the media.
The vaccination drive among private hospitals came a week after national and local government officials kicked off Cebu’s first inoculation program at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).
LOOK: These are scenes at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) on March 4, 2021, moments before the ceremonial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines will take place. Via @morexetteCDN #CDNDigital pic.twitter.com/ZUshQATO0v
— CDN Digital (@cebudailynews) March 4, 2021
Loreche said Level 2 and Level 3 private hospitals in Central Visayas were included in the national government’s priority for the vaccination program.
/bmjo
Read: DOH-7: Vaccine rollout in Cebu expected on March 4