There were 408 senior citizens who received Sinovac jabs at the Bacolod City Government Center and in four barangays Friday, April 23, as the rollout for their category began, City Administrator Em Ang said.
There were 197 who were vaccinated at the Bacolod City Government Center lobby and 211 in barangays Mandalagan, Vista Alegre, Villamonte and Singcang-Airport, Ang, who is also the executive director the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center, said.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of Sinovac vaccines for senior citizens, Dr. Chris Sorongon, Emergency Operations Center deputy for medical data and analysis, said.
“This is our first rollout for senior citizens who are not health care workers,” he said.
There are 66,000 plus senior citizens targeted for vaccination in Bacolod City, Sorongon said.
“Those senior citizens who are vaccinable but have not registered yet for the vaccination should do so now so that when more vaccines arrive, they can be scheduled, too, according to their priority groupings,” Sorongon said.
“We have waited long enough to convince all HCWs (healthcare workers) to undergo vaccination. We will now proceed to the other priority groups while there are vaccine allocations arriving. Please continue to register through your respective barangays or on the city’s online portal registration,” Dr. Edwin Miraflor, OIC City Health Officer, said.
Online registration can be done by registering at this link: tinyurl.com/bcdceironline.
Another 1,050 doses will also be released to various hospitals in Bacolod intended for the remaining health care workers at these facilities and for the senior citizen relatives of these hospital health care workers living with them in the same household, he said.
“This vaccination is our only way out of this pandemic and the means to restart our economic recovery,” Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonarda reiterated.
“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, and people in vulnerable situations, shall be protected from Covid-19 by ensuring accessibility and adequacy of supply of related drugs and vaccines,” he said in a press statement.
Leonardia said that Bacolod has procured 650,000 doses of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccines using a portion of the P300-million local budget allotted for the vaccination program.
These AZ vaccines are expected to come in batches starting July this year.
The vaccines that will be used between now and July are those that are provided from time to time by the Department of Health.
A negotiation for the purchase of an additional 150,000 doses of vaccines is also underway, the mayor said.*