(File photo)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Nearly 4,000 medical front-liners here have already been inoculated in the last two weeks against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in line with the rollout of the government’s vaccination program.
A monitoring report from the Department of Health (DOH)-Region 12 said a total of 3,736 health workers from the first and second batch of recipients received their first dose of the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines from March 8 to 22.
An additional 170 health workers were added to the list from the third batch of eligible recipients based on a partial report as of Wednesday released by the City Health Office (CHO).
Dr. Rochelle Oco, acting CHO chief, said the vaccinated health workers comprised medical professionals and staff members of the city’s 10 public and private hospitals as well as personnel assigned in the city’s temporary treatment and monitoring facilities for Covid-19 patients.
The local government targeted some 3,138 priority health workers under the first batch, 748 in the second batch, and 628 in the third batch, or a total of 4,514.
“This is a continuing process and our coverage has been expanding based on the guidelines set by the DOH,” she told reporters.
Since March 6, the city government already received a total of 3,338 Sinovac vaccines and 2,930 AstraZeneca shots from the DOH-Region 12.
Oco said the latest delivery was made last Monday, comprising 90 vials or 900 doses of AstraZeneca and 200 doses of Sinovac vaccines.
She said the additional vaccines are for front-line workers under the city’s rural health units.
These include those who are not working in isolation facilities, personnel of the health offices, and health workers in free-standing health facilities.
Oco said the target recipients included members of the barangay health emergency response teams and barangay health workers.
She said the city has continued to log a high vaccine acceptance rate, with over 80 percent of the priority health care workers already vaccinated.
The recipients were issued with vaccine cards bearing Quick Response or QR codes under the city’s Trace and Protect Action Team or Tapat system, she said.
She said there were adverse effects reported in some recipients but only considered minor and all of them had been properly addressed.
“We’re hoping that the trend will continue as we enlist more recipients in the coming days,” Oco said. (PNA)
