THE hospitals in Mandaue City received 331 vials of AstraZeneca, each of which is equivalent to 10 doses, on Sunday, March 14, 2021.
Ernie Manatad, chairman of the Mandaue City Vaccine Board and president of the Association of Barangay Councils, told SunStar Cebu that seven hospitals in Mandaue City, both public and private, had received the AstraZeneca vaccines allocated by the Department of Health (DOH) 7.
Manatad said the number of doses provided to each hospital depends on the number of medical workers listed on its master list.
On March 15, Manatad said 690 medical workers from hospitals in Mandaue City had been vaccinated since the arrival of the vaccine from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. last week.
Merryl Marie Maunes, chief nurse of the Mandaue City Hospital, said 150 doses of AstraZeneca would be given to its 75 health workers with the remaining ones to be for the second dose.
The Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) also received 52 vials of AstraZeneca vaccine for its frontliners on March 15.
CCMC hospital administrator Yvonne Cania said they had run out of the Sinovac vaccine, the first vaccine given to them by the national government on March 12.
Meanwhile, DOH 7 spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche said AstraZeneca is the second vaccine that arrived in Central Visayas.
The vaccine uses the non-replicating chimpanzee adenovirus vector platform unlike Sinovac’s inactivated viral particles. However, both vaccines are administered through intramuscular injection.
AstraZeneca has two doses and has to be injected six to 12 weeks apart.
Loreche recommended the spacing of the AstraZeneca doses to give ample time for the antibodies in a person’s system to kick in and create immunity.
AstraZeneca can be used on individuals aged 18 and above, including senior citizens.
According to the vaccine manufacturer, adverse events to look out for after vaccination are pain at the injection site, headache, fever and muscle pains.
The region has received 30,000 doses. The contents of one vial can be injected into 10 persons since it is a multiple-dose vial.
The DOH 7 has distributed 2,950 vials equivalent to 29,500 doses.
Bohol received 5,140 doses or 514 vials. Negros Oriental and Siquijor received 3,660 doses or 366 vials.
Fourteen hospitals have completed the vaccination of the first dose of Sinovac to 7,436 healthcare workers. Loreche said as of March 13, the DOH 7 has distributed the vaccines intended for 12,766 healthcare workers, comprising 45.33 percent of the 28,162 doses.
Loreche said there is no study yet on whether immunity can be achieved if different vaccines will be administered to an individual.
Meanwhile, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said the priests under the Archdiocese of Cebu are ready to be inoculated against Covid-19.
This was announced by the prelate during his visit to the Police Regional Office 7 headquarters in Cebu City on March 15. He was the guest of honor during the traditional Monday flag-raising ceremony.
Palma said they tried to order Covid-19 vaccines last week, but Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino told him that the vaccine would be given to them for free.
He urged the public in this time of pandemic to trust the government, which has made moves to slow down the spread of the virus. (KFD, PAC / JOB / AYB / KAL)