ILOILO City – On July 9, several “qualified” individuals for Pfizer BioNTech vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were reportedly not able to make it to the inoculation site. The city government thus substituted those in the list.
“Our goal is to minimize vaccine wastage,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas. “We have long been waiting for additional allocations and now that we have them, we could not let this opportunity pass for Ilonggos who want to be vaccinated.”
The elderly and persons with comorbidities were the priority recipients of the Pfizer jabs. However, some of them did not show up for their scheduled vaccination at the Iloilo Convention Center in Mandurriao district, Treñas said.
Who got the vaccines then?
The city government had a quick substitution list, Treñas said.
This list comprised of the “vulnerable sectors and priority groups,” he said.
Due to the nature of the vaccine, Treñas stressed that it had to be administered immediately and could no longer be returned to storage if unused.
He also emphasized that a Department of Health (DOH) representative was also in the site to monitor the vaccination activity.
Treñas noted that all the 1,500 doses allocated for that day were administered.
The city mayor issued the statement following reports that almost 400 doses of the Pfizer jabs were feared to expire if not utilized on the said day. There were also allegations that those who got the vaccines were not senior citizens and persons with comorbidities as earlier emphasized by the city mayor as priority recipients./PN
