Medical professionals and administrative personnel from two Level 3 hospitals in Bacolod City have received Sinovac shots during the third vaccination rollout in the city last Monday.
The vaccination saw 16 workers from Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) and Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital (Riverside Medical Center) got inoculated with the China-made COVID-19 vaccine.
“We hope this message resonates down to the community that more of you will now agree to get vaccinated. More than this, I hope that our people will greatly realize that the development and approval of safe and effective vaccine less than a year after the emergence of a new virus is a stunning scientific achievement and a much needed source of hope,” said Dr. Edwin Miraflor, who represented Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the RMC vaccination.
At the CLMMRH, seven medical frontliners and two administrative personnel were vaccinated, with Infection Diseases Specialist, Dr. Carina Frayco, as first recipient.
At the RMC, meanwhile, six medical frontliners and one corporate officer received the vaccine shots. The first two vaccinees were Dr. Jose Pepito Malapitan, acting assistant medical director, and Dr. Evram Corral, chair of the Department of Internal Medicine.
On March 5, history was made in Bacolod as six medical frontliners – five doctors and one nurse – were vaccinated with Sinovac vaccine, marking the first COVID-19 vaccination in Western Visayas.
“Our leading and prominent doctors have now been vaccinated. These are the people who understand what this is all about. These are the people who can comprehend the consequences of a vaccine and yet, they are here as guiding examples for us to follow,” Leonardia said.
Two days later, on March 7, 24 more healthcare professionals were inoculated in the second rollout of Sinovac vaccines.
The initial doses received by the medical frontliners of RMC and CLMMRH were part of around 6,300 Sinovac doses allocated by the Department of Health to the two hospitals in Bacolod./WDJ