Over 700 inoculated on first day of Covid-19 vaccination program

DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III said 756 individuals, mostly healthcare workers and uniformed personnel, received the first dose of the Sinovac vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on the first day of the implementation of the vaccination program.

In a statement, the National Vaccine Operations Center reported that there were 128 vaccinees from the PGH, 85 from Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, 20 from the Lung Center of the Philippines, 110 from the Philippine National Police General Hospital, 353 from Veterans Memorial Medical Center, and 60 from Victoriano Luna Medical Center.

Of the 756, 13 experienced common and minor adverse events following inoculation, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media forum on Tuesday, March 2.

She said seven experienced high blood pressure, three experienced pain at the injection site, one had rashes, one had a headache and another had nausea.

“Wala sa kanilang na-admit, lahat sila ay inobserbahan, na-manage at after a while, they were all sent home,” she said.

Recipients of the vaccine were monitored for up to 30 minutes at the vaccination site as part of the process stipulated in the national deployment and vaccination program.

Vergeire said DOH was “content” and pleased with the first day of the vaccination program.

“Kumpara doon sa previous days na may mga lumalabas na talagang mataas ang hesitancy, we saw the support and we saw that healthcare workers voluntarily had themselves vaccinated,” she said.

“Bagamat ang mga numero natin ay hindi pa ganoon kataas, we are expecting and we are hoping that... we will see an increased uptake of this vaccine," she added.

Under the newly enacted Covid-19 Vaccination Program Law, Vergeire said the government is responsible for addressing any adverse events after inoculation, except in cases of gross negligence on the part of the vaccine manufacturer or health worker.

The Philippines kicked off its vaccination program a day after the arrival of 600,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine that were donated by China.

The government aims to inoculate up to 70 Filipinos within the year.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. told President Rodrigo Duterte during the weekly briefing on the pandemic situation on Monday, March 1, that he expected up to 161 million doses in 2021.

These include the 44 million doses that the Philippines is supposed to get through the Covax facility, a global initiative to inoculate up to 20 percent of the population in 92 low and middle-income countries.

In the DOH statement, Galvez was quoted as saying that 5.1 million doses will arrive in the first quarter, including the 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines donated by the Chinese government which arrived on February 28.

The 161 million doses also include the 17 million that the private sector and local government units are procuring from AstraZeneca, and the 25 million additional Sinovac vaccines.

Galvez also announced previously that he had submitted a term sheet for 30 million doses of the Novavax vaccine. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo / SunStar Philippines)