A health worker prepares a dose of Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination for residents in Mandaluyong on July 15, 2021. (File photo from AFP)
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Individuals, who were inoculated with the Russian Gamalea Sputnik vaccines, mostly in Cebu City, will have to wait for their second dose.
Doctor Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Visayas Vaccination Operations Center (VVOC), said no Sputnik vaccines had arrived yet for the second dose.
This means that those inoculated with the Sputnik vaccines will have to wait until a supply comes or until the national government authorizes the use of other vaccines as a second dose to the Sputnik-inoculated individuals.
“Kung sakaling walang dumating na supply na Gamalea doses, our technical experts andLor our national government are working on it on which vaccine will be given to you as second dose. Kahit hindi natin sinasabi ngayon na pwede ang mixing ng vaccines pero merong mga instances na may ganitong baga-bagay. Pero maghintay po tayo nga mga advisories,” said Loreche.
(If ever there will be supply of Gamalea doses that will arrive, then our technical experts and our national government are working on it on which vaccine will be given to you as a second dose. Even though we cannot say for now that mixing of vaccines is okay, but there are instances like this. But we will just wait for the advisories.)
The VVOC encourages those individuals to be more patient as they will provide advisories on the next move of the national government with regards to the Russian vaccines.
Meanwhile, a new shipment of vaccines arrived in Cebu on Thursday morning, August 12, 2021, that will be divided among the different provinces in the Central Visayas.
Loreche said that at least 102,960 doses of the Pfizer vaccines were shipped to Cebu on Thursday. Of this, 42,120 doses will be allocated to Metro Cebu alone and the 11 local government units (LGUs) that belong here.
The VVOC will provide updates on Friday as to the division of the Pfizer doses to the different provinces and LGUs in Metro Cebu.
The shipment came a day after Cebu inoculated its millionth dose on August 11, 2021, which makes the province the lead in the vaccination program in the region.
In total, Cebu has inoculated 1,012,996 doses of the vaccines with 615,296 for the first dose and 397,070 for the second dose.
Bohol has inoculated a total of 155,347 doses, Negros Oriental inoculated 164,299 doses, while Siquijor inoculated 45,923 doses.
The VVOC encourages LGUs to continue master listing individuals who are qualified for the vaccines so that they will be allotted the corresponding doses.
The VVOC also urged the public to register to their respective LGUs and get vaccinated amid the rise of the Delta variant in Cebu.
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