The Negros Occidental and Bacolod City governments will be stepping up their mass vaccination against COVID-19 with the arrival of 52,160 AstraZeneca doses good for 26,080 persons, Tuesday, May 11.
The arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccines will be on top of the 6,000 more Sinovac doses good for 3,000 persons in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City also expected to arrive soon, Dr. Jane Juanico, Department of Health 6 infectious disease section head, said Monday, May 10.
Juanico said Western Visayas will receive 127,200 AstraZeneca doses good for 61,100 health care workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities on Tuesday.
Allocated for Iloilo province are 33,340 doses, Negros Occidental – 32,740, Bacolod City – 19,420, Iloilo City – 19,110, Capiz – 7,330, Antique – 6,260, Aklan – 6,100 and Guimaras – 2,900, Juanico said.
Bacolod City Administrator Em Ang, who is also Emergency Operations Center (EOC) executive director, said this is the biggest shipment of vaccines so far, which will enable the city to step up its mass vaccination drive.
Dr. Chris Sorongon, EOC deputy, said they vaccinated 150 people at the Ayala Malls Capitol Central and 200 at SM City in Bacolod City on Monday.
The mass vaccination at the two malls will continue and hopefully Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia on Tuesday will announce the opening up of more vaccination sites, Sorongon said.
“The order of the DOH is we have to rollout the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines in the next six days,” he said.
“We are aiming to hit herd immunity in Bacolod City through mass vaccination,” Sorongon added.
Also expected to arrive in Western Visayas are 38,400 doses of Sinovac vaccines, but no specific date has been set yet, Juanico said.
Negros Occidental and Bacolod will receive 3,000 dosses each, she said.*