By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Sixteen workers from Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) and Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital (Riverside Medical Center) here were inoculated with the China-made CoronaVac vaccine.
“We hope this message resonates down to the community that more of you will now agree to get vaccinated. More than this, I hope that our people will greatly realize that the development and approval of safe and effective vaccine less than a year after the emergence of a new virus is a stunning scientific achievement and a much-needed source of hope,” said Dr. Edwin Miraflor, who represented Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the RMC vaccination.
At the CLMMRH, seven medical frontliners and two administrative personnel were vaccinated with Infection Diseases Specialist Dr. Carina Frayco as first recipient.
The other vaccinees were Dr. Franklin Delano Tumaneng, Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS) operations chief; Dr. Joan Cerrada, HEICS Planning chief; Antonio Monfort, OIC-chief administrative officer; Marybeth Marcial, chief nurse; John Michael Gabriel Zaragoza, HEICS public information officer; Dr. Hary Carial, chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine; Dr. Eirene Ayalain, chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine; and Dr. Rhea Tabujara, pulmonologist.
“I know that I need this. I have read about the possible side effects that I might feel. This is one of our contributions to the pandemic aside from our firsthand contribution as healthcare workers in treating the sick,” Cerrada said.
“This is one way that we ourselves and our family can stay protected. Of course, we still have to wear our face shield and face mask, and observe proper hygiene and social distancing. We are still in the midst of the pandemic so it is best to be cautious and mindful of what we can do to protect ourselves so we can avoid getting infected.”
At the RMC, six medical frontliners and one corporate officer received the vaccine shots. Simultaneously inoculated, the first vaccinees were Dr. Jose Pepito Malapitan, acting assistant medical director and Dr. Evram Corral, chair of the Department of Internal Medicine.
The other vaccinees were Dr. Therese Angeli Cocjin, Infection Diseases consultant; Dr. Jeanette Umali, head of Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee; Maria Liza Peraren, chief nurse; Nancy Hizon, Corporate Human Resource officer; and Engr. Noel Garbo, Corporate Strategic Support Division officer.
“With these vaccines now available for us frontliners and hopefully soon for all Filipinos, the time is now in our favor. The doctors always emphasize that the best vaccine is whatever is available. When you are vaccinated, you do not only protect yourself but likewise, those around you,” said RMC president and CEO Genesis Goldi Golingan.
For his part, Malapitan said: “Even with all the lectures that we had, it is best if we can show them that we are willing to get vaccinated to give them courage. Right now, I feel nothing, but we have to be observed and we have to report anything that we might feel for 24 hours. So far even in studies, there are only few who had any reaction.”
Upon conclusion of the vaccination, EOC Deputy for medical and data analysis Dr. Chris Sorongon said: “Thank you Riverside Medical Center because if not for your Level 3 facility, most likely only CLMMRH will be receiving our first batch of vaccines in Bacolod.”
On March 5, history was made in Bacolod as six medical frontliners – five doctors and one nurse – were vaccinated with CoronaVac, marking the first COVID-19 vaccination in Western Visayas.
“Our leading and prominent doctors have now been vaccinated. These are the people who understand what this is all about. These are the people who can comprehend the consequences of a vaccine and yet, they are here as guiding examples for us to follow,” Leonardia had said.
Two days later, 24 more healthcare professionals were inoculated in the second rollout of Sinovac vaccines.
The initial doses received by the medical frontliners of RMC and CLMMRH were part of around 6,300 CoronaVac vials allocated by the Department of Health to the two hospitals in Bacolod City.
“We have once again shown our unity with the people. With our doctors leading the way, a clear and brave example, we hope to see more medical frontliners getting the shots within the next few days,” Miraflor said. (With a report from the Bacolod City PIO)
