VACCINE STORAGE. Personnel of Bacolod City Health Office led by officer-in-charge Dr. Edwin Miraflor Jr. (center) store the newly-arrived vaccines in the cold room located beside the Government Center on Monday (July 19, 2021). Some 51,040 doses arrived, including 30,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) single-dose Janssen; 18,700 doses of AstraZeneca; and 2,340 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech jabs. (Photo courtesy of Bacolod City PIO)
BACOLOD CITY – The city government here received its single largest allocation of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) jabs in a day, totaling 51,040 doses, all delivered by the national government on Monday.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia welcomed the arrival of additional vaccines as the vaccination rollout continues in various vaccination centers, including the Ayala Malls Capitol Central and SMX Convention Center.
“We are very pleased to announce the biggest volume we've received in one delivery since the implementation of our vaccination program,” Leonardia said in a statement on Tuesday.
The 51,040 shots included 30,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) single-dose Janssen; 18,700 doses of AstraZeneca; and 2,340 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech.
Leonardia thanked Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer and vaccine czar of the National Task Force Against Covid-19, “for keeping his word to keep Bacolod among the priorities” for vaccine allocation.
“We are sure this volume will help us accelerate the implementation of our vaccination program,” he added.
Leonardia said the 18,700 doses of AstraZeneca that arrived on Monday are already part of the supply procured by the city government through a tripartite agreement with the national government and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines Inc.
“And with this, we expect our locally-funded vaccines to come on a regular basis," he said.
"This is good news to the many who are waiting considering that we had already been allowed to include priorities A1 until A5,” Leonardia added.
Frontline personnel in essential sectors, including uniformed personnel, belong to A4 while indigents fall under A5.
Currently, the vaccination rollout here continues for individuals belonging to the A1, A2, and A3 priority groups, which include front-line health care workers, senior citizens, and adults with comorbidities, respectively.
“We again appeal for the participation of our people in our vaccination program even as we thank those in the malls and in the barangays who have been tirelessly working to inoculate as many and as fast as can be,” Leonardia said.
As of July 18, a total of 88,489 doses have been administered, including 66,012 first doses, and 22,477 for second doses.
The vaccines comprised 22,605 doses of AstraZeneca, and 65,884 doses of Sinovac’s CoronaVac.(PNA)
