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Manila Bulletin

Philippines

Iloilo starts COVID-19 vaccination

Philippines

Iloilo starts COVID-19 vaccination

By Tara Yap

ILOILO CITY – Twenty-two persons received the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, jumpstarting the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination program in Iloilo Friday.

A CATHOLIC nun is among the 22 persons who were vaccinated against COVID-19 at St. Paul’s Hospital in Iloilo City Friday. (Tara Yap / MANILA BULLETIN)

St. Paul’s Hospital Iloilo kicked off the vaccination program minutes after the Western Visayas office of the Department of Health (DOH) delivered the first batch of Sinovac vaccine that has been donated by China.

Dr. Sylvia de Pili was the first person in Iloilo to have been injected with the vaccine against COVID-19. She is chairperson of the hospital’s internal medicine division.

Also injected with the first dose of Sinovac is Dr. Ella Mae Divinagracia, the hospital’s infectious diseases expert.

“I hope this encourages other residents to get vaccinated,” Divinagracia told Manila Bulletin in response to the high hesitancy among Ilonggos.

Also vaccinated Friday were seven other doctors, six nurses, three Catholic nuns who are hospital administrators, a medical technologist, a physical therapist, a clinical secretary, and a housekeeper.

Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, chief of the DOH 6 for infectious disease cluster, earlier said that hospital workers and staff are the first to be prioritized in the COVID-19 vaccination program.

At least 10,580 vials of Sinovac arrived in Iloilo Friday. This was also distributed to the DOH-run Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC), West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSUMC), and Iloilo Doctors' Hospital (IDH).

Actual vaccination in these three other hospitals is expected to start by March 8.

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