(PNA photo by John Rey Saavedra)
CEBU CITY – Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday urged medical front-liners in Cebu to grab the opportunity and be vaccinated with the CoronaVac jabs from China's Sinovac Biotech.
In a virtual briefing with the press, Roque said the healthcare workers (HCWs) have been facing the risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
"The best vaccine is the available vaccines. We have the vaccines offered to you considering the risk you face as medical front-liners, you better grab it," Roque said in mixed English and Filipino.
His comment came after many HCWs from the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center preferred to get vaccinated with other brands despite the arrival on Tuesday of the 7,200 doses of CoronaVac by Sinovac Biotech.
The vaccines, which are part of the 600,000 doses donated by the Chinese government to the Philippines, are now placed in a cold storage facility at the regional hospital.
To encourage HCWs to take their first shots of CoronaVac, VSMMC chief Dr. Gerardo Aquino Jr. volunteered to lead five other officials in the ceremonial inoculation at the hospital's Center for Behavioral Science Building here.
"Let me reiterate Sec. Roque's words: the available vaccines are those that are already available. I urge my colleagues to be vaccinated (with the CoronaVac)," Aquino added.
Roque said medical workers can still get other brands if they choose not to take the available vaccines now.
He said Cebu will still get allocations from pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.
The doses of this brand of vaccine from the United Kingdom will still be administered to the priority sector, which means that VSMMC medical officials and staff who would not get CoronaVac will be inoculated with it.
"Kaya lang, maghihintay sila kailan ang deployment ng AstraZeneca. Kaya nga kung anong vaccine na available ngayon, kunin nyo na po (However, they have to wait for the deployment of the AstraZeneca in Cebu. That's what's the available vaccines now, you better grab it)," Roque pointed out.
He also said other medical front-liners in the Rural Health Units in Cebu are being listed as priority sector for the vaccination rollout.
However, they have to wait for the next allocations as the first group considered for the available vaccines now is the VSMMC medical staff.
Apart from Aquino, other officials who volunteered for the vaccine rollout Department of Health (DOH-7) chief pathologist Dr. Mary Jean Loreche; Dr. Juanito Tiu, hospital chief of St. Anthony Mother and Child Hospital; Dr. Pythagoras Zerna, chief of Eversley Childs Sanitarium and General Hospital; and Major General Melquiades Feliciano, deputy chief implementer of the Inter-Agency Task Force Central Visayas. (PNA)
