Photo courtesy of Councilor Dave Tumulak
CEBU CITY, Philippines – On its first day of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout for senior citizens, Cebu City was able to administer the first dose of the vaccine to 634 elderlies.
Councilor Dave Tumulak, in a series of messages to reporters, said the first day of the city government’s vaccination drive for senior citizens, held on Monday, April 19, went smooth.
The vaccination sites are Robinsons Galleria at the North Reclamation Area and the University of Cebu’s Banilad Campus in Barangay Banilad.
To comply with existing health protocols, the city implemented a schedule for those who registered and consented to be inoculated against COVID-19.
Tumulak said that so far, they did not receive any reports of serious adverse reactions from the seniors who received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.
“However, before they were vaccinated, I think there were no more than 10 whose blood pressure had slight elevation, but after being vaccinated, these returned to normal levels,” he explained.
“Some of our healthcare workers said that maybe it was because of anxiety and worries,” he added.
Monday’s senior citizens that were inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine came from Barangays Mambaling and Mabolo.
Cebu City Health Officer Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, in a separate interview, said the vaccine administered to senior citizens was CoronaVac, the COVID-19 vaccine brand by China’s Sinovac Biotech.
Ibones said the city allocated a total of 5,000 doses of CoronaVac for seniors of which 4,500 of these came from the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) while the rest were extra doses from the previous rollout for healthcare workers.
“We’re hoping to use up all 5,000 doses within five days. This is why we’re aiming to vaccinate a total of 500 seniors per site,” he added.
Data from the Visayas Vaccination Operation Center (VVOC) showed that at least 88,000 senior citizens in Cebu City consented to be inoculated.
Under the Philippine National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for Covid-19 vaccines, senior citizens are classified as A2 and next in line in receiving free vaccines from the national government.
Healthcare workers, tagged as A1, are the top priority.
Local governments can only proceed with the rollout of vaccines for elderlies if they have finished administering the doses to all medical frontliners registered in their respective lists. /
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