Cebu City has started the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday with medical frontliners receiving the first shot of CoronaVac doses in a ceremonial inoculation.
Around 50 to 70 individuals are targeted to be inoculated during the first day of rollout.
Dr. Gerardo Aquino, medical chief of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), was the first to be injected with the vaccine developed by Sinovac.
Several personnel of the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 7 and medical chiefs of other hospitals who were vaccinated said they did not experience any severe side effects.
“This is wherein you feel you have your flu shots. I feel well, I feel okay and actually that’s the right word there,” DOH-7 Spokesperson Dr. Mary Jean Loreche shared.
She noted that there was only “a little pain” in the injection site, similar to any experience when injected.
The VSMMC is targeting to vaccinate 400 individuals daily out of its over 1,000 medical frontline workers who are willing to take the shot.
Meanwhile, the 12,000 CoronaVac doses have arrived on Thursday in the Bicol Region to be administered to 6,000 health workers of four COVID-19 referral hospitals. – Report from Daniel Manalastas, with reports from Danica Caballero/PIA Bicol
