Cebu City runs out of vaccines again; walk-ins still not welcome
Vaccinees swarm the registration booth at the SM Seaside vaccination center. CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City is inoculating residents faster than the arrival of vaccines.
Councilor David Tumulak told CDN Digital that all vaccination sites will shut down temporarily starting Wednesday, June 23, 2021, until further notice as the vaccines have run out again.
The city was only given 21,000 Pfizer vaccines and half of these are reserved for the second dose. All first doses of the vaccines have been rolled-out by Tuesday, June 22.
Tumulak said there is still no advice from the Department of Health (DOH) whether additional vaccines will be allocated to the city in the coming days.
However, the giving of second dose vaccines will continue out on Friday, June 25. The city government will announce the venue before the date.
He said that while the city waits, vaccinators will take the time to rest as they have been working overtime in the past weeks to hasten the vaccination of more individuals.
“Papahulayon lang sa nato atong vaccinators hangtud nga naay moabot nga vaccines kay grabe pud ang ilang hago,” said Tumulak.
(We will let the vaccinators rest while waiting for the vaccines because they have been working very hard.)
The councilor urged the public to be more patient with the vaccination program as the supplies of the city is dependent on the allocations from the national government.
For now, residents are encouraged to register for the vaccination program so that when more doses arrive, they may be prioritized.
The vaccination sites in Cebu City are not accepting walk-ins despite the request of the DOH in Central Visayas (DOH-7) not to turn away walk-in individuals.
“I think dili na mowork sa atoa because daghan man tag niregister and motext tag 1,400 kada adlaw per site to make sure nga dili masayang ang doses. Maybe mo work na for other LGUs (local government units),” he said.
(I think that won’t work for us because a lot have registered and texted, around 1,400 everyday per site to make sure that the doses won’t go to waste. Maybe that will work for other LGUs.)
Tumulak added that if they allowed walk-in, the sites may not be able to handle the crowd, which may cause violation of health protocols.
/bmjo
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