Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi became the first to receive the authorized vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country.
Legaspi was inoculated with Chinese-made vaccine, CoronaVac, in a ceremonial vaccination at PGH on Monday, March 1.
In a livestream feed of state-run television PTV, the PGH head received the vaccine from nurse Sherlock Santos.
The Philippines officially kicked off its vaccination program following the arrival of 600,000 vaccines developed Chinese firm Sinovac on Sunday, Feb. 28.
The Sinovac vaccines were donated by the Chinese government to the Philippines.
After Legaspi, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo and infectious disease expert Dr. Edsel Salvana also got inoculated using Sinovac vaccines.
Those who got vaccinated then underwent monitoring for possible adverse effects from the vaccines.
Other officials who lined up for vaccination at PGH were Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr., and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Benhur Abalos.