The Valenzuela City government started the inoculation of Covid-19 bivalent vaccines to frontline health workers of Valenzuela City Emergency Hospital (VCEH) in Barangay Dalandanan, on Tuesday, June 27.
The bivalent vaccines, considered as the third booster shots, were given to the health workers following the guidelines of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Memorandum No. 2023-D178 released last March 31.
According to the guidelines, adults belonging to the A1 and A2 groups (healthcare workers and elderlies) would be the first to receive the Bivalent vaccines.
The city government said it prioritizes all healthcare workers catering Covid-19 patients, ages 18 and above, from different hospitals in the city to get inoculated with their third boosters.
Photo from Valenzuela City Public Information Office/ MANILA BULLETIN
It added that the vaccination for the VCEH frontline health workers will be conducted near the Valenzuela City Astrodome for three days to ensure that all the recipients will be accommodated. It will be led by the city’s VCVax unit.
Dr. Rolando Tecson, VCEH department head was the first to get inoculated on Tuesday.
VCVax Officer-in-charge Dr. Ayra Aguirre-Rubillos said the DOH has allocated a total of 2,250 doses of the Bivalent COVID-19 vaccine for Valenzuela City.
She added that they are anticipating a total of 276 health workers to receive the vaccine and that that the selection of recipients was according to the DOH’s prioritization frameworks.
The local government said the initial implementation of Phase 1 occurred last June 25, 2023, at Our Lady of Fatima University RISE Tower, where a total of 114 healthcare workers got their third booster shots.
The third booster vaccine must be administered four to six months after the primary series or the second booster dose, the city government said.
Recipients were advised to complete the prerequisite immunization (Covid-19 initial, second, first, and second booster shots) before receiving the third booster doses.
The local government also said that the Covid-19 vaccine Pfizer Bivalent is a combination of the original and the Omicron BA.4-5 Covid-19 caccine, administered for further protection against the emerging Omicron variants looming in the city. Pfizer is the initially approved brand for Bivalent vaccines.
It added that the administration of the Bivalent vaccines to other groups in the general public in its succeeding phases will be further announced by the DOH and the City Health Office.
It also encouraged the families in the city to get inoculated against the Covid-19 and contact the VCVax Hotline at 8-822-2463 or their local health stations.