Abalos gets second Sinovac jab

MANILA, Philippines — Mandaluyong City Mayor Menchie Abalos was injected yesterday with the second dose of the China-made Sinovac vaccine.

“With this second dose, I’m not saying we will be 100 percent protected. Somehow, it will give an assurance that we will not reach a critical state or being hospitalized when we contract COVID-19,” Abalos said after receiving the jab.

She received her first dose of Sinovac last month, days after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed mayors and governors in the NCR Plus to get vaccinated.

As of last week, the city government had inoculated around 21,000 residents on the priority list. Of the number, at least one percent have received their second dose, Abalos added.

“As of now, we don’t have available vaccines for the first dose. What we have are for second doses of Sinovac. We are still waiting for the delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines,” she told reporters.

As of May 4, the city public information office said 111,665 residents have registered for the vaccination program.

Pasig vaccines hit 35,000

In Pasig, more than 35,000 residents have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines, Mayor Vico Sotto announced on Tuesday.

“We hit the 35,000-mark for first dose vaccinations,” Sotto said in a statement.

He said they are reserving supplies for the second dose injections of Sinovac, which requires at least a month of gap between the first and second doses.

Last month, the city government opened four more vaccination sites to accommodate senior citizens and persons with comorbidities.

Pasig had ordered 400,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines worth P100 million as early as January. The city government has allotted P300 million for the vaccine procurement.

As of Monday, there were 837 active COVID-19 cases in the city with 690 deaths and 22,190 recoveries.

In Muntinlupa, 380 residents were inoculated with Sputnik V vaccines, according to the city government.

The recipients of the Russian-made vaccines were healthcare workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities.

Mayor Jaime Fresnedi and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benhur Abalos witnessed yesterday the vaccination at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center and Ospital ng Muntinlupa.

Muntinlupa has received 15,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccines from the national government, along with the cities of Manila, Makati, Parañaque and Taguig.