A TOTAL of 150 doses of the 300 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that the Department of Health (DOH) 7 allocated for the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 were administered to police personnel on Thursday, July 8, 2021.
The PRO 7 hopes it will receive more vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) so the entire police force in the region can get vaccinated.
During the ceremonial inoculation, 50 police personnel received their first dose inside the PRO 7 headquarters in Cebu City, while 100 received their first dose at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).
Another 150 police personnel will be vaccinated at the VSMMC on Friday, July 9.
According to Lt. Col. Marilou Aboloc, acting chief of the Regional Medical and Dental Unit 7, the PRO 7 has 12,000 personnel, of whom only 1,710 have been vaccinated, accounting for 7.2 percent of the entire force.
Aboloc said they have a list of police personnel who are scheduled to be vaccinated on Friday, but if they don’t show up their dose will be given to another personnel.
The police official is hopeful everyone at the PRO 7 will have received at least the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in the next few months.
Maj. Rey delos Santos of the Police Community Relations Division 7, who was one of the vaccinees on Thursday, said he was happy to be vaccinated because it’s important for him and his family to have protection against the virus.
He said it wouldn’t look good if they keep reminding the public to get vaccinated if they themselves haven’t gotten the jab yet.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla, Cebu City Police Office deputy director for operation, said the City’s Emergency Operations Center has approved their request for 400 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
However, he said the DOH 7 has asked him to make sure that all doses will be administered.
The last time the DOH 7 delivered 56 doses to the CCPO, only 26 were administered because the others had already been vaccinated. (AYB / PJB)