THE Lapu-Lapu City Government will no longer purchase vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The City Government had set aside P104 million to buy vaccines for its residents.
“Since there is already an assurance from the national government, there’s a big possibility we will use the money for other projects,” Chan said in a mixture of Cebuano and English.
The mayor said the City has not been having any problem with vaccine supply since the Department of Health (DOH) 7 is quick to replenish it.
In the last six days alone, the City was able to vaccinate 12,680 individuals, surpassing its target of inoculating 1,500 senior citizens and persons with comorbidities daily.
According to Chan, the City has vaccinated 14,860 individuals with 2,180 having received their second dose.
He hopes the City will reach its target of vaccinating 280,000 residents this year.
He said barangay captains have been going house-to-house to encourage residents to register in the City’s vaccination program.
Turnout had been slow until this past week, with only more than 1,000 individuals showing up at the vaccination sites since the City began its vaccine rollout.
In Cebu City, Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, officer-in-charge of the City Health Department, said they will only be injecting the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine until Friday, June 4.
He said the 27,000 doses they received have almost run out.
However, the vaccine rollout will continue, with the City injecting the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine starting on Monday, June 7.
Ibones said the City has so far vaccinated 60,000 residents at its four vaccination sites with 10,000 having received their second dose. This doesn’t include the employees from private companies who were vaccinated under the Project Balik Buhay vaccine initiative.
He said the number of people who showed up at the vaccination sites fell on Tuesday and Wednesday, or June 1 and 2, respectively, but that was because of the inclement weather brought about by tropical storm Dante.
He said they will vaccinate next authorized persons outside of residence as soon as the City receives the next batch of vaccines from the national government. However, they will continue to vaccinate health care workers, seniors citizens and persons with comorbidities, he said.
Sputnik V
Meanwhile, the DOH 7, on Thursday, June 3, said the first batch of Gamaleya’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, consisting of 300 doses, which arrived in the region on Wednesday, is intended for Cebu City.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH 7 spokesperson, said the Sputnik V requires -18 degrees centigrade storage.
“These will be given to our priority A1 to A3 (health care workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities) because the pre-listing for A4 (essential workers) is still ongoing,” she said.
Aside from the Sputnik V vaccine, Central Visayas has received 257,760 doses of Sinovac; 162,000 doses of AstraZeneca; and 29,250 doses of Pfizer, as of Wednesday.
According to Loreche, 11,203 individuals have received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, while 103,585 health care workers have been vaccinated. Of that number, 61,397 have completed their vaccination.
A total of 66,841 senior citizens have also been inoculated with 10,207 having received their second dose, while a total of 33,987 persons with comorbidities have been vaccinated with 2,755 having completed their vaccination. (GCM, PAC, WBS / PJB)