Manila City begins inoculating medical frontliners with Sputnik V

MANILA, Philippines —  The local government of Manila on Tuesday said that it has already started inoculating its medical frontliners with the Russian-made vaccine, Sputnik V.

Manila Vice Mayor and Doctor Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan said medical frontliners will be jabbed first before proceeding to other priority groups set by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Inter-Agency Task Force.

“Gaya na rin po ng bilin ng ating alkade, Mayor Isko Moreno, susundin po namin yung category na inilatag po satin ng IATF at ng DOH. So magsisimula po tayo sa medical frontliners, yung mga A1,” Lacuna-Pangan said in a statement.

(As instructed by our mayor, Mayor Isko Moreno, we will follow the category set for us by the IATF and the DOH. So will start with the medical frontliners, the A1.)

“Pagkatapos po nun, kung wala na pong nag-aavail in how many days time siguro in 2-3 days, ay ibibigay na po natin yan sa susunod na category,” she added.

(After that, if no one will avail of the vaccine in the next 2-3 days, we will give it to the next category.)

As of 12:00 p.m., about 59 medical frontliners have already been vaccinated using the Sputnik V vaccine.

The city first received the 3,000 doses of Sputnik V on Monday, May 3.

Manila City Health Officer Dr. Arnold Pangan said the vials are sufficient to vaccinate 3,000 medical frontliners from the six district hospitals and national government hospitals in the city.

About 79,593 medical frontliners, senior citizens, and those with comorbidities have been vaccinated by the Manila City government as of 6:00 pm on Monday, May 3.

Out of this number, 25,341 have already received their second dose.

The said vaccines which were produced by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, first arrived in the country after it has received a total of 15,000 doses of Sputnik V, the first batch of the 20 million doses the Philippines is eyeing to procure.

DOH said the first batch of Sputnik V would be distributed in seven vaccination sites in Metro Manila.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, the efficacy rate of Sputnik V is at 91.6 percent and is authorized to be used in 64 countries with a total population of over 3.2 billion people.

The reported side effects for the said vaccine include flu-like symptoms, arm soreness, and headaches.

Sputnik V also requires two doses, much like the other vaccines currently available in the country.

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