62 thousand doses arrive in Central Visaya; Cebu City opens new vaccination site

CEBU, Philippines —  At least 62,200 more doses of COVID-19 vaccine that are among those donated by Japan to the Philippines arrived in Central Visayas on Sunday, July 11, 2021.

Dr. Van Phillip Baton, spokesperson on vaccines of the Department of Health (DOH)-7, said those classified under the A1, A2, and A3 groups who have not received a single shot just yet will be prioritized.

 “Priority gihapon ang remaining A1, A2 and A3,” Baton said.

The A1 group is composed of healthcare workers, the A2 group is composed of senior citizens, and the A3 group is composed of persons with comorbidities.

Baton said it is important to still prioritize the most vulnerable sectors in the vaccination program.

Doses that will not go to the A1, A2, and A3 groups can be given to those in the A4 group or the economic frontliners and the A5 group or the mass population.

The arrival of the vaccines from Japan brings to 1,010,880 the number of doses that the national government has allocated for Central Visayas since the start of the vaccination rollout.

Sixth site

A day after the new batch of vaccines arrived, Cebu City opened its sixth vaccination site at Ayala Center Cebu.

City Health officer-in-charge Jeffrey Ibones said the target is to vaccinate a minimum of 500 individuals per day at the new site.

“Nakaistorya ko sa Ayala management. Ingkaso modaghan gyud, pwede sila maka-extend sa ilang lingkoranan,” Ibones said.

“Dako na nato nga tabang sad diri, labi na diri dapita ari kay wa gyud ta’y vaccination site, although naa ta’y diri sa Banilad, sa UC, pero layo-layo man na diri. Diri man gud kay central kaayo siya,” he added.

Ibones said the city will cater to those under priority groups A1 to A5 depending on the vaccine brand DOH will provide. With the latest Sinovac allocation, all those under the five priority groups can be administered.

At least 5,000 doses were left as of Monday, July 12, 2021, and these are expected to be administered by Tuesday.

The five other operational vaccination sites in Cebu City are at University of Cebu-Banilad, UC in J. Alcantara Street, Robinsons Galleria, SM Seaside, and the NOAH Complex.

Ibones said it is important to have more vaccination sites so that the city can cater to more people without violating minimum health protocols, particularly social distancing.

“Importante gyud kaayo kay og ingkaso og atong vaccination sites gamay ra pud, maghuot man sad. Like for example, SM… moabot gyud ta og tag libo kapin, pero kung ingkaso ug naa nata’y ma-open nga vaccination site, ma-decongest man sila,” he said.

The city has prepared at least 21 vaccination sites, including the five that are operational. Sites will be opened at SM City Cebu, Ayala Central Bloc, and University of San Jose-Recoletos, to name a few.

As of July 12, 2021, Cebu City has administered up to 120,000 doses. At least 300,000 have already registered online through pabakunata.com.

Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Visayas Vaccination Operation Center, said the national government has assured that more vaccines will be arriving in Cebu in the next two weeks.

Up to 1,180, 404 individuals are in the masterlist for vaccination in Metro Cebu.

Meanwhile, a total of 454,147 individuals in Central Visayas have received the vaccine as of July 11, 2021. Of this number, 353,978 have received the first dose while 110,169 have received the second dose.

Wake-Up call

Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, chief of the city’s Emergency Operations Center, said the recent spike in cases in the city and Central Visayas in general should serve as a wake-up call, especially to those who refuse to follow minimum health standards, those who refuse to get vaccinated, or those who are picky with the vaccine brand.

“It’s a wake-up call, especially nga naa na ng atong vaccination, nga dili intawn ta magpili ug vaccine,” Garganera said.

He cited the information shared by Dr. Bryan Lim about the latter’s COVID-19 patients who would have had the opportunity to get vaccinated but chose to wait for their preferred brand. Unfortunately, they got infected before they could get it.

Garganera echoed the statement of medical experts that the best vaccine is the one that is available.

“One thing for sure, it prevents severe (cases) or hospitalization, more so, death,” he said.

He reminded the public yet again to just follow the basic steps in fighting the virus.

“I might sound like a broken record… the one that shapes this pandemic is our movement ug atong behavior so back to basic… wear your mask properly, social distance, avoid gathering, and then, kanang personal hygiene nato because this can really curtail and stop the transmission,” Garganera said.

Based on EOC’s data, Cebu City has 986 active cases, including the 91 fresh cases recorded on July 11.

“Dili gyud ta maka zero sa COVID… For me, its roller coaster ride... It is where, how we manage it... contain it… that matters… but dili ni namo mahimo na kami ra,” he said.

He also reminded the public that health workers and contact tracers also get tired.

As the city and the region is experiencing a third wave of infections, Garganera said the EOC will meet with business owners anew.

“We have to revisit again… mga supermarkets, public markets, resto-bars, kana tanan,” he said. — Caecent No-ot Magsumbol and Decemay P. Padilla, Dianah Rule Salinguhay, CNU Intern JMO (FREEMAN)