COVID-19 VACCINATION. Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia (standing, left) and City Administrator Em Ang (right) observe the inoculation flow in the vaccination center set up at the SMX Convention Center inside the SM City Bacolod on Wednesday (June 9, 2021). So far, more than 39,000 doses of vaccines have already been administered to residents of the city. (Photo courtesy of Bacolod City PIO)
BACOLOD CITY – Some 39,232 doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines have been administered to residents of this city as of June 8, data released by the city government on Wednesday showed.
These included 21,876 doses of AstraZeneca and 17,356 doses of Sinovac’s CoronaVac jabs, which all came from the allocation of the national government since March 5.
Of the number, 30,328 individuals have been vaccinated with the first dose while 8,904 have already received the second dose.
On Wednesday, mass vaccination for priority groups under A1 (frontline healthcare workers), A2 (senior citizens), and A3 (adults with comorbidities) continued at Ayala Malls Capitol Central, and at SMX Convention Center inside the SM City Bacolod.
“We are now using the 17,000 Sinovac doses, which arrived in the city recently,” Dr. Edwin Miraflor Jr., officer-in-charge of the City Health Office, said.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia himself visited the two vaccination centers to check the flow of the rollout.
Leonardia earlier requested the national government to allocate more vaccines for Bacolod amid the continued surge in local cases. As national president of the League of Cities of the Philippines, he also asked to include other high-risk areas in the priority recipients of Covid-19 vaccines.
In response, National Task Force Against Covid-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. told Leonardia in a letter dated June 2 that “enough doses will be given to inoculate 100 percent” of Bacolod’s adult population and that the vaccines will be delivered “in accordance with the existing laws, rules, and regulations.”
“We understand your alarm in the recent upsurge of cases in various parts of our country, including those outside the NCR+8. Towards this end, we believe that vaccinating more segments of our population is needed to stem out further cases,” Galvez added.
As of June 9, Bacolod has logged 10,588 confirmed infections, including 1,578 active cases; 8,734 recoveries; and 276 deaths. (PNA)
