Ilocos, Cordilleras roll out Sinovac vaccines

MANILA, Philippines — Hundreds of health workers in Ilocos and the Cordilleras were inoculated with Sinovac vaccines from China yesterday as the two regions kicked off their anti-COVID vaccination program.

Norman Rabago and Walberg Samonte, COVID-19 consultant and director of the Governor Roque Ablan Memorial Hospital in Laoag City, respectively, are the first doctors in Ilocos who were vaccinated.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Criselda Ciubal was the first to receive the Sinovac jab among health workers at the Laoag City General Hospital.

Pediatrics specialist Dr. Agnes Dimacalo of the Region 1 Medical Center was the first to be vaccinated in Pangasinan.

A vaccine rollout was also held at the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center in San Fernando City, La Union.

The inoculations against COVID-19 in Ilocos is expected to be completed in five days.

Dr. Meliarazon Dulay, acting chief of the Benguet General Hospital, was the first to be injected in the province.

Doctors Edrian Geronimo and Daisy Mae Tagudar, heads of the infectious disease and internal medicine departments in the hospital, respectively, were also inoculated.

In Mountain Province, the head of the Luis Hora Regional Memorial Hospital (LHRMH) in Bauko town, Dr. Eduardo Calpito, was the first to be vaccinated.

Of the 1,040 doses delivered in Mountain Province, 600 are allocated for LHRMH and 200 for Bontoc General Hospital.

The vaccination program in Kalinga will start today.

The Department of Health turned over 300 doses of Sinovac vaccines to the Kalinga provincial health office on Friday.

The second batch of Sinovac vaccines is expected to be delivered after 28 days.

Meanwhile, Bulacan received 900 doses of Sinovac vaccines yesterday.

Hjordis Celis, head of the response cluster of the provincial task force against COVID-19, said health workers of the Bulacan Medical Center as well as district hospitals would be given priority in the vaccine rollout tomorrow.

The vaccinations will be held at the Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center in Malolos.

Swab tests still required

As this developed, Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo said visitors are still required to undergo swab test upon arrival in the province.

Degamo said those with negative results would be allowed to go home while those who tested positive for the virus would be brought to isolation facilities.

While he acknowledged the more relaxed travel protocols issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the governor stressed the need to control the spread of COVID-19 in the province.

Negros Oriental logged 120 active cases on Friday. – Ramon Efren Lazaro, Gilbert Bayoran