7k doses of COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Cebu City

CEBU CITY – Half of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines intended for medical frontliners arrived here Tuesday morning, March 2.

The 7,200 doses of Sinovac’s CoronaVac arrived at Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) at 7:40 a.m. on board a Philippine Airlines flight.

The transportation of the vaccines from the airport to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu City “was hassle-free”, said Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Department of Health-Central Visayas (DOH 7).

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and City Councilor Dave Tumulak were among the city officials who went to the MCIA to witness the arrival of the vaccines.

Retired Maj. Gen. Mel Feliciano, the deputy chief implementer of the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATFMEID) in the Visayas, was also at the airport.

Loreche revealed the second batch of the vaccines comprising of 7,000 doses will arrive between March 4 and 8.

Loreche explained that health workers will be prioritized in the distribution of the vaccines.

“We look forward that they will be availing of the vaccines. This was given to them because we really care for our healthcare workers,” said Loreche.

Some of the vaccines will be allocated to other medical frontliners in DOH-retained hospitals, said Loreche.

“We will be allocating the vaccines to both private and government hospitals. We have to remember that not all will be given with the vaccines right away. We want to prioritize those who are in the areas who are attending COVID-19 patients,” Loreche said.

Loreche said keeping the CoronaVac vaccines at VSMMC will not be a problem.

“Storage is not as difficult as Pfizer because Sinovac only requires to 2 to 8 centigrade which is the usual temperature that we use for our existing vaccines,” said Loreche.