Vaccination of healthcare workers in Cebu City. | Delta Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) has announced that the region is getting an additional 44,400 allocations of the Sinovac vaccine.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, the chief pathologist of DOH-7, said in the daily briefer for April 14, 2021, that the additional doses have arrived today and will be placed in the inventory for distribution to the A1 and A2 priority groups or the health frontliners and senior citizens, respectively.
This would bring the total doses of the vaccines for the region, both Sinovac and AstraZeneca, to 178,560 since the start of the roll-out.
The pathologist said that the doses will be used to finish the remaining A1 priority group and if there will be an excess, they may start the roll-out for the senior citizens.
“This will be intended again for two things, to finish off our A1 or our healthcare frontliners and kung dunay mga excess, pwede na nato sugdan atong A2. Pwede pud nato sila idungan para mapaspas ang pagbakuna,” said Loreche.
Those who are master-listed frontliners and senior citizens are urged to prepare because they may be the recipients of this new arrival.
As of April 12, 2021, the region has given the first dose 76,404 from the A1 priority group, which comprises 56.6 percent of the total eligible population for A1.
Only 13,836 of these have already been inoculated with the second dose or at least 18.5 percent of the eligible population. There is a remaining 60,768 to be vaccinated for the second dose.
There are still 57,177 health frontliners that are yet to be inoculated for the first dose, and the target for the second dose is 74,604.
The vaccination program in the region is not without hitches as at least 1,087 individuals refused to be vaccinated with 457 refusals from Sinovac and 630 refusals for AstraZeneca.
Deferrals of inoculation due to pre-existing medical conditions reached 4,006 with 2,282 deferred Sinovac inoculation and 1,724 AstraZeneca inoculation.
Mild effects of the vaccines were recorded in 1,785 individuals in the region.
Loreche encouraged the public belonging to the A1 and A2 priority group to get vaccinated especially that vaccine doses are available for them for free.
Healthcare workers and senior citizens can register at their respective local government units (LGUs) to get vaccinated. /rcg