BY MAE SINGUAY AND DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The city government is expecting the arrival on July 16 of the first batch of 650,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine it ordered against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy for medical data and analysis of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said 18,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine will be delivered.
These would be immediately rolled out on July 17 as directed by Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
Sorongon added that the vaccines already have identified beneficiaries and they will be equally distributed among the city’s barangays, as well as the city’s mega vaccination centers (Ayala Malls, SMX Convention Center, and Robinson’s Place Bacolod).
Leonardia signed a deal with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm in January.
“A substantial number of our population can be vaccinated as soon as this product hits Philippine shores,” Leonardia said.
According to City Administrator Em Ang, executive director of the EOC, the city allocated P300 million for COVID-19 vaccine procurement.
Meanwhile, vaccination rollout is ongoing in this city with several clustered barangays and the SM City, Ayala and Robinsons Place malls as the inoculation sites.
Bacolod targets to vaccinate 68 percent of its total population, or 424,992 individuals, to achieve herd immunity./PN
