Covid vaccination starts in Zambo

ZAMBOANGA CITY has begun vaccinating medical frontliners following the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines.

Mayor Beng Climaco and other officials inspect the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines. (Bong Serondo) 

Some 10,200 Sinovac vaccines arrived here recently and will benefit about 5,100 medical frontliners from different hospitals and health stations in Zamboanga Peninsula. 

Chief Covid fighter Mayor Beng Climaco, who heads the local task force against the deadly respiratory virus, said the vaccines will greatly help protect frontliners and prevent the further spread of the disease.

“This is good news for our frontliners who are putting their life at risk to save others,” Climaco said.

At least 6,000 health workers who are Covid frontliners in Zamboanga City have been included in the initial master list of the local government’s vaccination program.

City Health Officer Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite said that vaccination sites for health frontliners will be in hospitals and health centers, while other priority groups will have a different site for their vaccinations. 

Climaco said the City Health Office, in coordination with the Department of Health, is preparing plans for the implementation of the mass vaccination program and urged residents to take the vaccines for their own protection.

She said the preparation plans include the master list of target individuals to take the first batch of the inoculation, the operation center, storage facilities and the vaccination action plan and information campaign to make people aware of the health benefits and protection they will get from the Covid vaccines.

The local government’s vaccination program, Climaco said, will prioritize healthcare workers, essential and other frontline service providers, and vulnerable populations such as the elderly and poor. “Este vaccines para de ustedes contra Covid. No mas tiene miedo porcausa este buen para de atun todo,” she said.

The mayor, who already signed a $2 million (or roughly P100 million) deal with the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca,  said local government’s vaccination program will cover 694,696 residents or 70% of the projected 2021 population of 992,423 inhabitants. 

The initial P200 million for the purchase of the vaccines are included in the P4.38-billion 2021 Executive Budget of the local government, according to Climaco, who is also a member of the Committee on Vaccine Availment of the League of Cities of the Philippines.

Climaco said the local government will allocate P100 million more for additional Covid vaccines following talks with US-based Johnson & Johnson.  

Dr. Afdal Kunting, chief of the Zamboanga City Medical Center, was the first to be inoculated here with Sinovac vaccine. 

The vaccines are part of the 600,000 doses donated by Beijing to the Philippines.

Dr. Augusto Alpichi, of the Department of Health, said the Chinese vaccine was recommended by the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group and approved by the Food and Drug Authority. 

Health Regional Director Dr. Joshua Brillantes also encouraged residents to get themselves vaccinated against Covid as an added protection and to help reduce transmission, reduce deaths and morbidity and ultimately help restore the economy.

The country also received some 487,200 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, a global initiative to support equitable access to vaccines. 

Washington said it has donated P97.2 billion ($2 billion) to COVAX, by far the largest contribution, to ensure the Philippines and other countries receive Covid-19 vaccines. 

“The United States is proud to be the largest contributor to COVAX, and we welcome the successful arrival of the first tranche of AstraZeneca vaccines in the Philippines. As we fight the pandemic together, the United States will continue to support the Philippines’ vaccination and Covid-19 mitigation efforts,” U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires John Law said in a statement sent to the Zamboanga Post.

The Philippines is among the first countries in the region to have received the vaccines through the COVAX facility. (Zamboanga Post)

Like Us on Facebook: The Mindanao Examiner
Like Us on Facebook: The Zamboanga Post
Follow Us on Twitter: Mindanao Examine
Mirror Site: Mindanao Examiner Blog
Digital Archives: Mindanao Examiner Digital
Media Rates: Advertising Rates