The Valenzuela City government on Monday, Aug. 7, temporarily halted the inoculation of the bivalent or third Covid-19 booster vaccines for healthcare workers and senior citizens in the city.
The local government said that the temporary stoppage was implemented as all the 2,250 bivalent doses for the first phase of vaccination, which were allocated to the city by the Department of Health (DOH), were already administered to the recipients.
The city health department is now waiting for the second batch of booster supplies.
The bivalent Covid-19 inoculations for health workers and senior citizens in the city started in July 2023 after the DOH released the guidelines for the vaccination in March.
The memorandum stated that the health workers and seniors will be prioritized to get the third booster jabs requiring that they got their second booster doses four to six months before their schedule.
The local government decided to prioritize all healthcare workers catering to Covid-19 patients, aged 18 and above, from different hospitals in the city such as the Valenzuela City Emergency Hospital, Valenzuela Medical Center, Fatima University Medical Center, Valenzuela Citi-Care, and ACE Medical Center.
The bivalent Covid-19 vaccine is a combination of the original and the Omicron BA.4-5 Covid-19 vaccines, administered for further protection against the emerging Omicron variants looming in the city, the local government stated.
Pfizer is the initially approved brand for bivalent vaccines, it added.
Residents were encouraged to check the city's official social media accounts for the resumption and schedule of the inoculations.
Meanwhile, the vaccinations of Covid-19 initial, second, first, and second booster doses in the city are still ongoing and are held at Valenzuela Peoples Park and at the Social Hall in the City Hall complex.