CEBU Archbishop Jose Palma and nine other elderly clergymen were able to receive their first shot of the Sinovac vaccine on Tuesday, April 13, 2021.
Palma, 71, received his vaccine through the Project Balik Buhay (PBB) program initiated by the private sector in support of the national Covid-19 vaccination program in Cebu.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, the Department of Health (DOH) 7 spokesperson, said Palma and the others were able to receive the vaccines from hospitals that had excess stocks.
“If a facility has excess vaccines that the healthcare workers won’t take, then the next in line are senior citizens,” Loreche added.
Loreche, however, failed to identify the other elderly priests who received the vaccine with Palma.
She also admitted that although Palma and the other elderly priests were already inoculated, there are still no other facilities that can vaccinate other senior citizens.
Loreche said they can’t initiate inoculations for senior citizens, who are considered next in priority, as they still have insufficient stock of the Covid-19 vaccines.
She added that they have partially pre-listed a total of 567,229 for A2 or senior citizens for vaccination as of Monday, April 12, 2021.
The breakdown is as follows:
157,705 - Bohol
168,832 -Cebu
128,025 - Negros Oriental
11,322 - Siquijor
88,000 - Cebu City
3,500 - Lapu-Lapu City
9,845 - Mandaue City.
Meanwhile, the DOH 7 said investigation is ongoing on the death of Sydney Rose Panimdim, a worker in a public hospital in Cebu City, who died allegedly after getting vaccinated.
Loreche said they are currently checking Panimdim’s medical records to determine if the symptoms she experienced just before she died were adverse effects caused by her recent vaccination.
She added that they could not rely on the claims of Panimdim’s family on her reaction after getting vaccinated, so they need to review her medical records before coming up with a conclusion.
Loreche said she has yet to confirm if Panimdim was vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine or with the Sinovac vaccine.
However, based on their records, only Sinovac was provided to the hospital where Panimdim worked.
Loreche clarified that persons with comorbidities are okay for vaccination provided that they are in good medical condition at the time they were vaccinated.
“So most likely, kato siya during the time nga gibakunahan siya clear ra gyud siya,” she said.
In addition, Loreche said, there are no prohibited activities after getting the vaccine since getting vaccinated cannot affect a person’s regular activities.
She said the important thing after vaccination is the 30 minutes to one-hour post-vaccination monitoring.