CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City has started vaccinating its residents under priority group A3 or those with comorbidities like chronic respiratory disease and infection, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, immunodeficiency state, among others.
City Health Office head Jeffrey Ibones said they decided to allocate time for those who have registered under the A3 group as the city continues with the second round of vaccination for senior citizens.
For now, only 100 people under A3 are accommodated at the vaccination sites at SM Seaside, Robinsons Galleria, and University of Cebu-Banilad. They are vaccinated from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
“Among gi-prioritize ang senior pero amo nang gisugdan ang A3. Gagmay-gagmay lang sa namo, 100 per site,” Ibones said.
“Pero depende sad, makita man gud namo inig ka hapon, gamay nalang or usahay wala na’y pa-inject kay kasagaran ari ta sa buntag. Tan-awon nato kung gamay gihapon ang mga senior, ato nang i-increase na,” he added.
Those who belong to the A3 priority group will need to bring to the vaccination site a medical certificate or latest prescription as proof that they have comorbidities.
They are urged to register online at https://mics.cebucity.gov.ph/vims/page/register or https://www.PaBakunaTa.com.
Ibones said at least 31,000 persons with comorbidities have already registered online, which is more than the 28,000 senior citizens who have registered.
“Ang mga senior, hadlok pa gyud sila, tinood. Hadlok gyud sila, hesitant sila nga magpabakuna tungod kay kana laging side effects unya kaning makadungog sila’g bati,” Ibones said.
“Kasagaran man gud sa atong mga with comorbidities, mga edukado pud ba. Kahibawo sila mokuan sa mga balita, motan-aw, maminaw, dili gyud ingon nga motuo dayon. Mao na’ng daghan ang willing,” he said.
Meanwhile, the city has also started administering the second dose of Sinovac to 106 residents.
Another schedule will be arranged for those who received AstraZeneca since it has a different vaccination interval from Sinovac.
According to the Department of Health, the interval of doses varies per vaccine. For those currently available, Sinovac is taken four weeks (28 days) apart, while AstraZeneca is taken four to 12 weeks apart.
Since the start of the city’s vaccination rollout on March 24, Ibones said an estimate of 13 to 14 thousand individuals have been inoculated against COVID-19.
Among these individuals are Mayor Edgardo Labella, Vice Mayor Michael Rama, Councilors Lea Japson, Joy Augustus Young, and Raul Alcoseba. — JMO (FREEMAN)