Philippines kicks off vaccination program against Covid-19

MANILA. Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, director of UP-Philippine General Hospital, is the first in the Philippines to receive a vaccine against Covid-19 on March 1, 2021. (Malacañang)
MANILA. Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, director of UP-Philippine General Hospital, is the first in the Philippines to receive a vaccine against Covid-19 on March 1, 2021. (Malacañang)

LESS than 24 hours after the arrival of the first batch of vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the Philippines, some government officials and medical frontliners had themselves inoculated Monday, March 1, 2021, to kick off the vaccination program and raise confidence in the vaccine.

Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, director of the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital (PGH), was the first to receive a dose of CoronaVac, the inactivated vaccine developed by Sinovac Life Sciences, at around 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Others who received the first of two doses of the Sinovac vaccine at the PGH were: Dr. Edsel Salvana, director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the UP-National Institutes of Health; Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo; and Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Benhur Abalos.

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., vaccine czar and chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19, underwent medical assessment prior to vaccination.

In a press conference after the ceremony, Galvez said he will have himself inoculated after the healthcare workers at the PGH.

Galvez said the government targets to administer the first dose of the Sinovac vaccine to all healthcare workers nationwide, who are willing to receive the vaccine, before the end of March.

He said the vaccines will be transported to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City on March 3 and 4, and to the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City on March 5 and 6.

UP-PGH, a state-owned tertiary hospital, received 1,200 vials of the Sinovac vaccine, each containing a dose. Between 60 and 80 personnel had signed up for vaccination.

At the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium, where 600 vials were delivered, testing czar Vince Dizon and medical center chief Alfonso Famaran Jr. kicked off the vaccinations.

A total of 178 personnel had agreed to be inoculated with the Sinovac vaccine.

At the V. Luna Medical Center in Quezon City, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) held ceremonial inoculation for Dr. Colonel Fatima Claire Navarro, commanding officer of V. Luna Hospital, and two other doctors, Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia Liao and Major Joel Lorenzo Rollo.

In a statement, the AFP said it will also hold a ceremonial vaccination in primary healthcare facilities catering to Covid-19 patients in its major branches of service in the National Capital Region on March 2.

At the Philippine Army General Hospital in Fort Bonifacio, its commanding officer, Dr. Colonel Joel Anastacio, led the ceremonial vaccination together with his team of medical frontliners.

The Philippines received a donation of 600,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine, the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines to reach the country, on Sunday, February 28.

The Sinovac vaccine is given in two doses four weeks apart to clinically healthy individuals who are 18 to 59 years old.

In granting an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Sinovac vaccine, the FDA said it is not recommended for healthcare workers who deal directly with Covid-19 patients because of clinical trial results in Brazil that showed an efficacy of only 50.38 percent for this group.

The vaccine, however, has been found to be 100 percent efficacious against severe Covid-19 and hospitalization, and 78 percent effective in preventing mild symptoms among individuals who are 18 to 59 years old.

Despite the FDA recommendation, the National Immunization Technical Advisory Council (Nitag) had retained the prioritization framework and gave healthcare workers the right of first refusal to receive the vaccine.

Nitag members stressed that vaccination is purely voluntary. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)

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