By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson announced yesterday that the provincial government will begin inoculating those under the A4 category or other frontline economic workers.

According to Lacson, they will use the 2,900 doses they received from AstraZeneca to inoculate those under the A4 category as they are part of the 100,000 doses the provincial government had purchased earlier this year.

Lacson, however, emphasized they are still unable to use the vaccines which were donated via the COVAX facility and they are still limited only to those belonging to the A1 to A3 categories.

He also expressed confidence that they will be able to use the COVAX-allocated vaccines to the A4 category soon, although he stated they must first hit the required 40 percent vaccination target for senior citizens.

“We have not reached [that] target yet,” he added.

Earlier this week, Negros Occidental also received 70,000 doses of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines which are part of the COVAX facility donation./DGB, WDJ