5,400 still waiting for 2nd dose of Sputnik V

Vaccinees who got their first dose of the Sputnik V vaccines over a month ago have yet to get a definite answer when they will have their second dose.
Asst. City Health Services Officer Celia Flor Brillantes reported last week the CHSO has not received information from the Department of Health when the next batch of the Russia-made vaccines will arrive. She, however, assured that vaccinees who got their first dose may wait for as long as three months to have their second dose.
The CHSO has initially administered on 300 people complete doses of the Sputnik V. But for the second batch, 5,400 people are waiting for their second dose.
The delay could have been due to the surge of cases in Russia, which could have prompted their government to vaccinate its citizens first before supplying other countries, Brillantes said.
In the meantime, she said the CHSO has enhanced the vaccination queuing system by engaging barangay officials in the identification of eligible residents and issuance of stubs with control numbers. The CHSO mobile vaccination team also continues to reach out to people who cannot physically go to vaccination sites due to illness, age, or disability.
The city vaccination team also began administering the single dose vaccines from Janssen Pharmaceutica to the A1, A2, and A3 groups.
Brillantes said the CHSO would have wanted to proceed with the vaccination of the A4 and A5 groups or the working population and indigents but administration of vaccines is concentrated on the first three groups in adherence to the protocols of the World Health Organization that vaccines coming from the Covax should be administered based on degree of exposure, age, and underlying diseases or comorbidities.
She reiterated that as supplies arrive, all those who want to be vaccinated will soon have their turn.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña added, the CHSO also continues to reach out to people who refuse to be vaccinated.
“We respect those who do not want to be vaccinated, but we want to vaccinate as many people as we can. It is for our protection,” dela Peña said, echoing experts who said that vaccination remain the best protection against getting infected of Covid-19 and its variants.
As of Aug. 4 there are 84,397 fully vaccinated individuals in Baguio. – Rimaliza A. Opiña