A total of 1,634 health workers in Western Visayas have already received the first dose of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine as of March 9, according to the Department of Health–Center for Health and Development 6 (DOH-CHD 6).
DOH-CHD 6 Local Health Support Division Chief and Regional Vaccination Operation Center Manager Dr. Sophia Pulmones said the health workers inoculated were from the level 3 hospitals which are COVID referral and accepting hospitals, both government and private, in the cities of Iloilo and Bacolod.
Pulmones said five hospitals in Bacolod City have already started to roll out the China-donated Sinovac COVID vaccines which were distributed by DOH 6 from the allocation given by the national government to the region. These hospitals are Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital, Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital, The Doctor’s Hospital and South Bacolod General Hospital.
In Iloilo City, the Western Visayas Medical Center, West Visayas State University–Medical Center and Iloilo Doctor’s Hospital have began the inoculation of their health workers on Monday, March 8. This came, two days, after St. Paul’s Hospital Iloilo held its initial roll out on March 5, the same day the initial 10,580 doses of Sinovac vaccines intended for Panay Island arrived in Iloilo.
Pulmones said the initial doses of the Sinovac vaccines were already distributed to level 3 priority medical facilities in the region and distribution is ongoing to level 2 hospitals such as the provincial hospitals in Aklan, Capiz, and Negros Occidental.
Allocation is also being made for level 1 facilities such as the district hospitals.
For now, Pulmones said prioritized to receive the vaccines are health workers who take care of COVID-19 patients in hospitals.
Once health workers who have signified to receive the Sinovac vaccines in the said health facilities will get their vaccination the next priority will be those working at Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities.
Meanwhile, DOH 6 received from their Central Office, March 10, some 16,880 Sinovac vaccine vials for the second dose of the vaccine recipients. Included in the delivery are 1,000 vials of Astrazeneca vaccines holding around 10, 000 doses.
The arrival of the additional Sinovac vaccines will ensure that vaccine recipients will get their second dose as per schedule which is 28 days after the first dose has been administered, according to Pulmones. (PIA6)
