42 health workers in Cebu City had ‘adverse side effects’ after Sinovac vaccinations

CEBU CITY –– At least 42 healthcare workers in this city have experienced “adverse side effects” after being vaccinated with Sinovac five days ago.

But according to Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Department of Health Central Visayas, these do not pose a danger and are not something to worry about since most of these are mild and “incidental.”

Among the adverse side effects were pain in the arms, headache, dizziness, and lightheadedness.

“Most of these are not caused by the vaccine itself. These are incidentals,” Loreche said.

“Incidentals,” she said, may have been caused by fear of needles and anxiety, while others did not eat before the scheduled vaccination.

Since March 4, a total of 1,397 healthcare workers in Cebu have been vaccinated.

Central Visayas has more than 14,000 doses of Sinovac. They are expecting another 14,000 to arrive soon for a total of 27,000 doses.

In the coming days, Loreche said an additional 20,000 AstraZeneca doses would be delivered in the region. These will be given primarily to the healthcare workers who are 60 years old and above.

Meanwhile, Loreche said the number of healthcare workers at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, who signified their intention to be vaccinated, has gone up to 2,212 out of the 2,900 hospital workers.

LZB