13,639 vaccinated so far vs COVID-19, says DOH

FIRST JAB. Dr. Ricardo Ruñez, medical director of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, is the first official beneficiary of the vaccine produced by Chinese pharmaceutical Sinovac for Baguio and the Cordillera during the vaccination rollout in March 5. PHOTO BY EV ESPIRITU

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 13,639 individuals have so far been vaccinated against COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday.

“As of 6 p.m. kahapon, 13,639 individuals na nabigyan na po natin ng bakuna among our 39 vaccination sites,” DOH undersecretary and spokeswoman Maria Rosario Vergeire said during the Laging Handa online press briefing.

(As of 6 p.m. yesterday, 13,639 individuals have been vaccinated among our 39 vaccination sites.)

Vergeire said that of the total number, there were 61 reported cases of “adverse events.”

“Nandyan pa rin po yung mga tinatawag natin refusals among our healthcare workers, but ang maganda po dito, nung nagumpisa tayo ay napakababa lang ng ating numero,” she said.

(We also had refusals among our health care workers, but what’s good about this is that we started with a low number then it eventually went up.)

“We started off with just 700 vaccinees nung unang araw, nag-increase na po tayo after ng two days, napunta na tayo sa 3,000, 4,000 and now we have 13,000,” she added.

(We started off with 700 vaccinees on the first day, then this increased after two days. It went up to 3,000, 4,000 and now we have 13,000.)

Vergeire also said the DOH expects more vaccinees with the arrival of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

The Philippines kicked off its COVID-19 vaccination drive on March 1 with the arrival of 600,000 vaccine doses manufactured by China-based Sinovac Biotech.

On March 4, 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived, and an additional 38,400 doses will arrive on Sunday, March 7.

/MUF