Some 600 frontliners of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) have received their first dose of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine over the weekend.
This was confirmed by BI Commissioner Jaime Morente on Monday, April 26. He said a second batch of 650 immigration officials and employes is scheduled to be inoculated on May 1 and 2.
The BI chief said the vaccinations are being scheduled on weekends so as not to disrupt the agency's daily operations. The vaccine brand being administered to the personnel is CoronaVac, which is manufactured by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd.
The inoculations gave priority to senior workers and those with morbidities in compliance with the guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Doctors examined the medical history of the recipients to determine their eligibility to receive the vaccine, Morente said.
Despite the vaccine rollout, BI officials and employes will continue to observe health protocols like the wearing of face masks and face shields.
Morente said the management is taking all the necessary measures to protect the health of BI's men and women, who are considered among the most exposed to the dreaded COVID-19 as far as government workers are concerned.