Bacolod expects to boost its vaccination drive against COVID-19 with the arrival of 21,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines on Wednesday or Thursday, City Administrator Em Ang said Tuesday, July 13.
The city government that has been vaccinating persons belonging to the A1 to A3 priority groups, which include health care workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities, is also opening up its vaccination drive to two more priority groups, said Ang, who also is the executive director of the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center.
They can now vaccinate persons belonging to A4 and A5 priority groups, which cover frontline personnel and the indigent population, she said.
“We can cater to A4 and A5 subject to availability of vaccines. A1, A2, A3 remain to be the higher priority,” she said.
Bacolod City has so far administered 78,361 COVID-19 jabs, with 64,184 receiving first doses and 14,177 second doses.
Bacolod City has purchased 650,000 doses of AstraZeneca good for 325,000 Bacolod residents, while Negros Occidental is buying 100,000 doses.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jesica Fama of the Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office said they may reserve whatever AstraZeneca vaccines arrive in July for the second doses to be administered on Negrenses from August 5 to 25.
She said 3,500 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccines purchased by the province are expected to arrive on July 15.
The second dose of an AstraZenca vaccine is administered in 10 to 12 weeks, Fama said, and the DOH has assured that it will send the needed supply.
Meanwhile, she said the province has reserved Sinovac and Pfizer vaccines for second doses.
Second dose Sinovac vaccines are administered in 28 days and Pfizer’s in 21 days, she said.
The provincial government dispersed 3,619 Sinovac vaccines to 15 local government units in Negros Occidental on Tuesday, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.*