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300 Maguindanao health workers receive first dose of COVID vaccine

Philippines

300 Maguindanao health workers receive first dose of COVID vaccine

By Zea Capistrano

DAVAO CITY – Three hundred health workers from the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) in Maguindanao received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac of China last Friday.

HEALTH Minister Dr. Amirel Usman is the first medical frontliner in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to get a dose of the Sinovac vaccine at the Integrated Provincial Hospital Office (IPHO) in Maguindanao. (Photo courtesy of the Bangsamoro Information Office / MANILA BULLETIN) — Health Minister Dr. Amirel Usman is the first medical frontliner in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to get a dose of the Sinovac vaccine at the Integrated Provincial Hospital Office (IPHO) in Maguindanao. (Photo courtesy of the Bangsamoro Information Office / MANILA BULLETIN)

“Today marks the beginning of that long been wished for event that a vaccine against coronavirus disease gets into our arms,” IPHO Maguindanao Provincial Health Officer Dr. Elizabeth Samama said in a statement released by the Bangsamoro government.

The second dose of vaccine will be administered on April 2.

Samama said the allotted Sinovac vaccines for the province were divided into four hospitals, including 600 vials for the IPHO, 300 vials for the Buluan District Hospital, 300 vials for the Datu Blah District Hospital, and 200 vials for the Datu Odin District Hospital.

The Buluan District Hospital will start its vaccination on March 8 while the Datu Blah and the Datu Odin District Hospitals will start vaccination on March 9.

“Our gratitude for the tremendous support we received and we are receiving to continue the fight against our unseen enemy,” Samama added.

Health Minister Dr. Amirel Usman was the first to receive the initial dose of the vaccine Friday. He said while it is not mandatory, getting vaccinated is a "moral obligation of everyone." Usman said that in case there will be an adverse reaction, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will provide a medical team that will monitor the individual within 30 minutes to one hour.

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