Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said Thursday, March 18, that he is reminding local government units to prepare their lists of indigent senior citizens because they will be the next to be vaccinated.
After the vaccination of the health care workers is completed, they will be next, he said.
The Department of Health has sent 5,180 doses of Sinovac vaccines and 740 AstraZeneca doses for 2,960 health care workers in Negros Occidental, and vaccination is currently underway.
Lacson said more vaccines from the DOH are expected to arrive by the end of the month or April.
The vaccines that are arriving are still not the 100,000 AstraZeneca doses ordered by the provincial government, Lacson said.
The provincial government is going ahead with the purchase of the AstraZeneca vaccines because the World Health Organization and the DOH have said that they are still safe and we can continue using them, he said.
“If the national government sends more vaccines, the vaccination rollout will be faster because it will be the LGUs who will be conducting the vaccination,” he said.*