THE City Government of Bacolod is temporarily suspending the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) mass vaccination program for healthcare workers and senior citizens at the Cinema lobby, South Wing of SM City, Bacolod on Friday, May 7, 2021.
The Covid-19 Vaccination Council (CoVac) in an advisory said it needed to reassess its protocols and procedures, including crowd control, to implement a more orderly and safer flow of vaccination.
The vaccination, which started on May 3 with a daily schedule from 10 a.m. to 5 p. m., aimed to accommodate remaining healthcare workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities who have yet to receive Covid-19 vaccine jabs.
As of Tuesday, more than 400 healthcare workers and senior citizens in Bacolod City already received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccines.
The healthcare workers and senior citizens were accommodated on a first-come, first-serve system, based upon the order of their online registration. Walk-ins were not allowed.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia, chairman of CoVac, earlier said it is the highest priority of the City Government to ensure that the lives of Bacolodnons, especially the underprivileged, poor and marginalized, frontline workers, health professionals, healthcare providers, police officers and soldiers, and those in the essential services, especially women who represent the majority of the health workforce, as well as senior citizens, persons with disabilities, children and people in vulnerable situations, will be protected from Covid-19 by ensuring accessibility and adequacy of supply of related drugs and vaccines.
He said the mass vaccination is geared towards achieving “herd immunity” in Bacolod.
“This vaccination is our only way out of this pandemic and the means to restart our economic recovery,” he added.
As of April 30, Bacolod City already administered a total of 10,750 shots of Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines.
From 7,801 doses initially administered, 2,949 more doses were added by end April.
These vaccine shots were administered by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), the City Health Office, Barangay Vaccination Centers, Corazon Locsin Memorial Regional Hospital, Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital, Bacolod Adventist Medical Center, The Doctors Hospital Inc., Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital, Metro Bacolod Hospital and Medical Center, and South Bacolod General Hospital.