SOME 2,315 medical frontliners in Bacolod City were already vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine and another 13 medical frontliners were inoculated with AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy for medical data and analysis of Emergency Operations Center-Task Force (EOC-TF), on Sunday, March 14, 2021, said eight medical doctors and five barangay health workers received their first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the Bacolod Government Center on Saturday.
Bacolod City on Friday received a total of 312 vials of AstraZeneca vaccine from the national government that will be distributed to Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Riverside Medical Center, Bacolod Adventist Medical Center and The Doctor’s Hospital, Inc.
The 312 vials of AstraZeneca vaccine can accommodate a total of 1, 560 recipients.
Aside from the AstraZeneca vaccine, Bacolod City also received on Saturday another 840 doses of Sinovac vaccine that will be used for medical frontliners assigned at isolation quarantine facilities, City Health Office, Barangay Health Workers, independent clinics and laboratories.
Sorongon said the AstraZeneca vaccine will be given to medical frontliners ages 60 years old and above.
“Once they finish accommodating all their senior citizens' healthcare workers, the hospitals can use the AstraZeneca vaccine to other healthcare workers who fail to receive the Sinovac vaccine,” he said.
He added the four hospitals will start the AstraZeneca vaccination Monday and will finish by Friday.
Sorongon said the AstraZeneca vaccine is a multidose vial that contains 10 doses. In each vial, there should be 10 recipients to be vaccinated.
Sorongon said the vaccine recipient should receive the same brand of vaccine on their first and second doses of vaccination.
“Once they received the Sinovac vaccine in the first dose, they should also get the Sinovac vaccine in the second dose. They should not mix the Sinovac, AstraZeneca or another brand of Covid-19 vaccines,” Sorongon said.
As of March 12, a total of 2,315 medical workers from different hospitals, both public and private, in Bacolod City were already vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine.
Out of their target of 2,350 medical frontliners to be vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine, Sorongon said they already vaccinated a total of 2,315 medical frontliners.
Sorongon said the 35 remaining medical frontliners will be vaccinated Monday to complete the 100-percent coverage.
He added the supplied Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines are still not enough to vaccinate all medical frontliners in the city.
Bacolod City has a total of 12,462 healthcare workers.
Sorongon said he is hopeful that this week, another supply of Covid-19 vaccines from the national government will be delivered to Bacolod City since almost one million vaccines from China are expected to arrive in the country.
He added Of 2,315 medical frontliners who received their first doses of the Sinovac vaccine, they only noted very minor adverse effects such as localize rashes, which were resolved after 15 minutes, and some experiencing high blood pressure due to excitement after the vaccination.