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Healthcare workers, gov't officials first recipients of Sinovac vaccine

Philippines | National

Healthcare workers, gov't officials first recipients of Sinovac vaccine

By Jhon Aldrin Casinas

Some healthcare workers and several top-ranking government officials were among the first recipients of the authorized vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country.

A health worker receives the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine during the first phase of vaccinations for health workers at Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, formerly Tala Sanitarium, in Caloocan City Monday (ALI VICOY / MANILA BULLETIN)

Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi became the first official recipient of the Chinese-made vaccine, CoronaVac, during the ceremonial vaccination at PGH in Manila on Monday, March 1.

The Department Health (DOH) said that Legaspi became the first healthcare worker in the country to be inoculated against COVID-19 using the vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech.

Legaspi was followed by Food and Drug Administration (FD) Director General Eric Domingo and University of the Philippines (UP)-National Institutes of Health Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Director Dr. Edsel Salvaña.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos Jr. also got inoculated at PGH, as well as National Task Force Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer and Vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.

NTF Deputy Chief Implementer and Testing Czar Secretary Vince Dizon got his first CoronaVac jab at Tala Hospital in Caloocan.

Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III administered a COVID-19 vaccine dose to Dr. Eileen Aniceto, department manager of the Lung Center of the Philippines’ Emergency Medicine and Outpatient Department.

The Philippines kicked off its official vaccination program on Monday following the arrival on Sunday, Feb. 28, of the 600,000 Sinovac vaccines donated by the Chinese government.

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