ILOILO City – Western Visayas is getting additional Sinovac vaccines today.
According to Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, head of the infectious disease cluster of the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 6, the 7,200 vaccines will then be distributed to provinces and highly urbanized cities.
Juanico said the region, as of March 28, received a total of 29,189 doses of Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines while a total of 26,442 healthcare workers received their initial doses.
The number of health workers inoculated so far was 27.9 percent of the 94,770 master-listed eligible healthcare workers in the region.
The regional health office reiterated that it follows the prioritization framework in identifying who receives the COVID-19 vaccines first considering the dearth of supply in the global market.
Meanwhile, Director Emilia Monicimpo of the DOH-6 assured that the region’s remaining healthcare workers will also be vaccinated as soon as additional vaccines arrive.
Under the DOH’s framework, first priority for vaccination include healthcare workers in COVID-19 referral hospitals; public and private infirmaries providing COVID-19 care; isolation and quarantine facilities that cater to COVID-19 suspects, probable, and confirmed cases, close contacts, and travelers in quarantine; and remaining hospitals including facilities of uniformed services not catering to COVID-19 cases.
The next in line are senior citizens, people with co-morbidities, frontline personnel in essential sector, and the remaining indigent population./PN
