ILOILO City – Western Visayas is set to roll out its vaccination program against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with jabs from Beijing-based drug maker Sinovac Biotech. The priority recipients are healthcare workers.
According to Dr. Jane Juanico, infectious disease cluster head of the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6, some 8,438 Sinovac vaccines are expected to be delivered within this week.
“We are waiting for the final flight details but ang information sa amon expected to arrive between March 4 to 5,” Juanico told Panay News.
The vaccines will be distributed to six COVID-19 referral hospitals, with the following allocations based on the number of their employees:
* Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City – 2,224 vaccines
* Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City – 1,642
* St. Paul’s Hospital Iloilo – 1,500
* Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital (Riverside Medical Center) in Bacolod City – 1,493
* West Visayas State University Medical Center in Iloilo City – 1,153
* Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital – 426
Juanico said they may start the vaccination simultaneously.
“May finalization pa kami sang anum ka hospital on Friday kon san–o namon officially i-deploy ang vaccination once all set na ang tanan,” she said.
Western Visayas has more or less 27,000 healthcare workers.
Juanico said the vaccination of healthcare personnel is voluntary.
For those who would opt not to get the vaccination, the hospitals “will prepare a quick substitution list.”
“If indi pa gid maubos, then we proceed to the next facility nearest them nga in accordance gihapon sang aton nga prioritization list,” said Juanico.
Citing Department Memorandum 2021-009, Juanico said frontline healthcare workers are first in the vaccination queue followed by the elderly, adults with co-morbidities, other frontline personnel in essential sectors, and indigent citizens./PN
