First dose vaccination in Cebu City resumes on June 17, still no A4

Vaccinees swarm the registration booth at the SM Seaside vaccination center. CDN Digital file photo | Rick Gabuya

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The first dose vaccination for residents in Cebu City will finally resume on June 17, 2021, after being suspended for five days for lack of vaccines.

Doctor Jeffrey Ibones, officer-in-charge of the City Health Department (CHD), said that 21,000 of a specific brand of vaccines have been allotted to Cebu City and will be distributed on Thursday in three sites: University of Cebu J. Alcantara and Banilad Campuses, and Robinsons Galleria.

The distribution is expected to last at least two to three weeks depending on the number of individuals who will turn up for their schedule.

The storage of the vaccines can only service the three sites and the storage is important because the temperature requirements of the vaccines can be tricky with only two hours window time between opening and expiration.

Ibones said they hope to distribute the vaccines faster this time so as not to waste any doses, although Cebu City has never wasted a dose of the vaccines yet.

Those who will be scheduled for vaccination on Thursday will receive a message from CEBU CITY VAX for their schedule.

As of now, Cebu City has no roll-out yet for the A4 priority group or the workers’ priority group since the vaccines the city allocated are donated from the COVAX facility.

Donated vaccines can only be given to A1 to A3 priority groups as stipulated in the guidelines of COVAX making it difficult for the city to distribute to other priority groups.

“Ang atoa man gung vaccines gikan sa COVAX so dili pwede ihatag sa mga A4 pa. Naghulat ta sa DOH (Department of Health) nga iallow na ta nila modistribute sa mga A4,” said Ibones.

Ibones urged the residents belonging to A4 to patiently wait for the vaccines because once they are allowed to distribute to them, those registered will immediately be inoculated.   /rcg