THE Davao City Government targets to complete the inoculation of the 2,400 healthcare workers from private hospitals on Sunday, March 14, 2021.
Of this number, around 85 percent of them have already received the anti-Covid vaccine as of March 11.
Since the Covid-19 vaccination rollout for private hospitals on Monday, March 8, around 2,028 were inoculated with the Sinovac vaccine. The number is about 85 percent of the targeted 2,400 healthcare workers from private hospitals to receive the shots.
Davao City Covid-19 Vaccine Cluster head Dr. Josephine Villafuerte said that vaccination to all private hospital workers will be completed on Sunday.
"We have started the vaccination of tertiary hospitals last Monday while the level two hospitals and the other healthcare facilities like infirmaries, small stand-alone clinics, started on Wednesday," Villafuerte said.
Among the inoculated healthcare workers were from the Davao Doctor's Hospital (DDH), San Pedro Hospital (SPH), Brokenshire Hospital, Davao Medical School Foundation Hospital, Davao Adventist Hospital, Metro Davao Medical and Research Center (MDMRC), Holy Spirit Community Hospital, Davao One World Diagnostic Center, the City Health Office (CHO), infirmaries and private clinics.
According to Villafuerte, of the 2,038 vaccinated healthcare workers, 11 were deferred from vaccination because they failed to pass the screening stage such as having pre-existing conditions like hypertension and allergies.
Villafuerte also revealed that 11 of the vaccinated individuals experienced a minor adverse effect following immunization (AEFI) that includes localized allergies.
"Meron tayong iba na nagkaroon ng localized allergies, yung makati ang injection, masakit (We have cases that experienced localized allergies like those who experienced itchiness and pain [where they were injected])," she said.
But Villafuerte said these effects are minor and the public should not worry about getting vaccinated.
"These effects outweigh the benefits that we can get if we get vaccinated," she said.
Meanwhile, the Covid-19 immunization for the frontliners assigned in City Government health facilities and temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) will start on Friday, March 12, at the Magallanes Elementary School.
"This will include our frontliners from the TTMFs, the Public Safety and Security Command Center, the 911, the Rapid Action Team (RAT), Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERTS), Barangay Health Workers and Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS)," she said.
Villafuerte said the targeted number for the City Government frontline workers is 8,000.
There are six stations during the vaccination: the waiting area for the orientation of people to be vaccinated; the registration room where the names will be recorded and verified; the counseling room; the screening room for the physical exam and assessment; the vaccination room; and the post-vaccination room where the patients will be observed in case of adverse effects.
Vaccine rollout at SPMC
On March 5, Davao Region started its vaccination program against Covid-19 at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) with vaccines from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, which arrived in two batches: 12,000 doses on March 2 and 21,600 doses on March 4.
The region, at present, received a total of 33,600 doses of Sinovac's CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine.
SPMC Chief Dr. Ricardo Audan told SunStar Davao in a phone interview that they already inoculated 3,570 out of 4,200 workers who pledged to get the Sinovac vaccine.
Audan said they are targeting to finish inoculating their workers with CoronaVac on Saturday, March 13.
Then on the next day, they will start vaccinating its workers with the AstraZeneca vaccines. An estimated 1,500 workers will be inoculated.
A total of 20,000 AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in the region on Tuesday, March 9.
As of Friday, March 12, a total of 112 SPMC workers experienced mild adverse effects such as dizziness, mild headache, itchiness, redness of injected portion, and nausea.
All workers were discharged shortly after manifesting these symptoms.
Audan said none of them experience any severe adverse effects on those who were inoculated during the Covid-19 vaccination rollout.
SPMC has an estimated total number of 5,900 workers who are among the priority beneficiaries of the vaccines allotted by the National Government. (With reports from CIO)