Bicol gets fresh batch of Sinovac vaccines for medical frontliners

LEGAZPI CITY –– Another batch of anti-coronavirus vaccines composed of 67,200 vials of the China-made CoronaVac arrived in this city on Friday, April 30, to inoculate more medical frontliners in Bicol, the regional Department of Health (DOH) said.

The fifth batch of vaccines, manufactured by the Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech Ltd., were packed in 42 boxes containing 1,600 vials per box and arrived at 11 a.m. at the Legazpi Domestic Airport aboard a Cebu Pacific commercial flight from Manila.

The vaccines were immediately brought to the DOH storage facility in this city for inventory and distribution to Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Sorsogon, Catanduanes, and Masbate, said DOH Bicol public affairs chief Noemi Bron.

The new arrival brought to 129,700 the total amount of vaccines that have reached the region for frontline health care workers.

The region has also received 62,500 CoronaVac doses and 22,000 doses of the British manufactured AstraZeneca.

The vaccines were intended for the first and second doses of the medical frontliners, as follows: Albay – 12,762; Camarines Norte – 6,110; Camarines Sur – 16,714; Catanduanes – 3,990; Masbate- 11,098; and Sorsogon – 11,826.

Bicol has logged 166 new patients infected with COVID-19 on Thursday.

The new cases brought to 1,897 the active cases in the region as of Thursday, with two recorded deaths and 51 recoveries, the DOH bulletin said.

The DOH tracker indicates that Bicol has 7,899 cumulative cases since March last year, with 5,556 recoveries and 281 deaths. INQ

LZB