By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The much-awaited weapon against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) arrived in Iloilo with the delivery of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines at the Iloilo International Airport on March 5, 2021.
18 boxes containing around 6,000 doses of the CoronaVac vaccines were unloaded from Philippine Airlines commercial flight PR 2141 around 9:31 a.m. Friday.
The vials were part of the 600,000 doses donated by the Chinese government, which arrived in Manila last February 28.
CoronaVac was developed by Chinese biotechnology company Sinovac and was granted Emergency Use Authorization by the Food and Drug Administration in February 2021.
Officials from the Department of Health-Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD), Office of Civil Defense-Region 6 (OCD-6), and local police, assisted in the unloading of the boxes from the plane.
The vaccines were then transported via refrigerated van to the DOH-WV CHD Cold Storage Warehouse in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
DOH-WV CHD Regional Director Dr. Emilia Monicimpo and OCD-6 Regional Director Jose Roberto Nuñez were present to receive the vaccines.
The vaccines will be distributed to the four COVID-19 Referral Facilities in Iloilo City, with the following allocation of eligible COVID-19 vaccine recipients according to the DOH-WV CHD:
– 2,224 for Western Visayas Medical Center;
– 1,742 for West Visayas State University Medical Center;
– 1,500 for St. Paul’s Hospital Iloilo; and
– 426 for Iloilo Doctors Hospital.
Malacañang announced in a press conference Tuesday that 8,438 persons, mostly medical personnel, in Western Visayas are eligible to receive the vaccines.
DOH-WV CHD Infectious Diseases Cluster Unit Head Dr. Mary Jane Juanico said that they had been instructed to deploy the vaccines within 2 to 7 days.
Juanico said there was vaccine hesitancy against CoronaVac as they have noticed a “20 to 30 percent” drop in the number of willing recipients, but she did not give the exact figures.
She said that they were swiftly coming up with their Quick Substitution List to allow them to continue the vaccine deployment without delay.
FIRST JABS
The first COVID-19 vaccinations in Iloilo were conducted at the St. Paul’s Hospital (SPH) in Iloilo City, with the DOH-WV CHD delivering an initial 400 vials of CoronaVac.
A priest blessed the vaccines before these were stored at the hospital’s pharmacy, where they were kept at temperatures of -2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
This batch delivered to SPH, according to the DOH-WV CHD, has an expiry date of Jan. 13, 2024.
Twenty people were the first to receive the vaccine on Friday – 8 SPH doctors, 6 nurses, 3 nuns, 1 medical technologist, and 2 other staff.
SPH infectious diseases specialist Dr. Ellamae Divinagracia confirmed to media that they have reserved 1,500 vials of COVID-19 vaccines for hospital management, staff, and their families.
The vaccination process at SPH started with the registration, where patient information is being gathered, including vital signs, histories of allergies, past illnesses, past invasive medical procedures, to name a few.
Patients are then taken to a room where the complete vaccination process is undertaken before obtaining their consent to be vaccinated.
After getting their consent, they are then transferred to the vaccination room to get jabbed.
They waited 30 minutes before being released, as they were monitored for any Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) and Adverse Events of Special Interest (AESI).
The first recipient of the vaccine in Iloilo was Dr. Sylvia Theresa de Pili, chairperson of the hospital’s Department of Internal Medicine.
After getting her vaccine, Dr. de Pili expressed positivity after getting the vaccine, saying she “felt nothing” during her jab.
She also encouraged the public to get immunized to protect themselves and their families.
“I felt nothing wrong so far. I feel okay. It’s just like any other vaccine. I’ve decided to have myself immunized, it was only a coincidence that I was first. I don’t feel nervous because I’ve already handled patients with COVID. It’s an attenuated version of the same virus so it is no different,” de Pili said.
Vaccines will also be delivered to the other Iloilo hospitals over the weekend and on Monday, March 8.
