Davao City – Davao City COVID-19 vaccination head Dr. Josephine Villafuerte yesterday, March 3, said that Dabawenyos must not miss the opportunity to have their immunization on their designated schedule as it’s the only solution to end the pandemic.
The retired City Health Office (CHO) chief said Dabawenyos may be wary about availing of the free COVID-19 vaccination from the government as they are thinking that they might be infected with the dreaded disease.
“Vaccination is the only cure to stop the pandemic. Otherwise, kung gamay lang ta mag pa immunize, dili gihapon nato maundang. We will not stop wearing masks, we will not stop promoting business. Maghihirap tayo kasi lahat tayo affected. Kailangan we have to get the vaccination, anyway, it will save us, it will save our families, and ultimately our community,” Villafuerte said.
The COVID-19 vaccination, she said, reduces risk and even protects a recipient from mild, moderate, to severe hospitalization and death due to the coronavirus.
Instead of worrying about the vaccines’ efficacy rate, Villafuerte said the general public has to be immunized.
She said, “It really doesn’t matter. The best vaccine there is is the one that’s been given to you
because the WHO (World Health Organization), the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), and the DOH (Department of Health) will not allow vaccines nga dili sya effective na makatabang sa atong morbidity.”
Safety and efficacy, according to her, are primary indicators that vaccines are being made available to the public.
Meanwhile, she said it is all systems go in the immunization rollout of the first batch of Sinovac vaccines from the national government in Davao City on Friday, March 5.
Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte will be joined by Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) during the launch of the COVID-19 vaccination program in the city.
Villafuerte said the 12,000 Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccines intended for 6,000 medical frontliners in COVID-19 referral hospitals have arrived in the city on March 2. Health frontliners at SPMC and Davao Regional Medical Center in Apokon, Tagum City will be prioritized in the first batch of vaccination.
The DOH also informed the city government that the second batch of the two-dose 16,000 Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines for 8,000 recipients will soon arrive. Medical frontliners in private hospitals, in the city’s Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMFs), and swabbing centers, along with uniformed personnel, will then follow.
However, the Sinovac vaccines will not be given to senior citizens and those with underlying comorbidities. She said that Sinovac has not yet completed its clinical study in using the vaccines on senior citizens and persons with comorbidities. She assured that the seniors will be given vaccines from other brands that have completed their clinical trials. (City Information Office | Michael Manguhig, RPN DXKT Davao OIC)