TACLOBAN CITY –– Eastern Visayas is set to receive 3,450 doses of Sinovac vaccines against COVID-19 for health workers in the region.
Dr. Carmen Garado, Department of Health (DOH) assistant regional director, however, said they didn’t know the date these vaccines would arrive.
“We have received an advisory from our central office that Eastern Visayas will receive 3,450 doses of Sinovac vaccines. However, there was no specific date mentioned in the advisory,” said Garado.
The vaccines will be brought to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center, the biggest government-run hospital in the region; Divine Word Hospital, a private hospital in this city; and the Schistosomiasis Hospital, a health facility under DOH administration in Palo town, Leyte.
Health workers are considered the “A1 priority” in this vaccination program since they are the ones who will first receive the vaccine.
Dr. Mark Steven Capungcol, head of the DOH-8 regional epidemiology surveillance unit, appealed to the public to have themselves inoculated against COVID-19.
“For those who are still adamant to have the vaccine (Sinovac), please grab the opportunity. Whatever is the available vaccine, have yourself vaccinated,” he said.
On Thursday, March 4, the DOH reported 59 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the region’s total number of cases to 15,653.