Mayor Benjamin Magalong has asked residents in line for vaccination to be patient as the city waits to have its vaccine supply replenished.
As the city used up its supply, the City Health Services Office was only able to dispense second doses since July 6.
“The national government is expecting a bulk of different vaccine brands this July and we hope these will arrive soon. We further hope we can get substantial share considering that we are included in the cluster of priority areas for vaccination,” the mayor said.
He said part of the city-procured vaccine of 190,000 doses is also expected to arrive anytime this month but it will not be that much.
“For July, we expect to receive only 11,000 doses and for August, around 18,000 doses. We were told that the bulk of our order will arrive by September and October. It is a little frustrating but we have to be patient because we know there are supply and production issues affecting not only our country,” the mayor added.
The shortage in vaccines has affected efforts of the city to speed up vaccination to counter threats of another surge presented by increased mobility and the presence of new and more insidious variants.
City Health Officer Rowena Galpo said as of July 5, a total of 71,988 residents had been vaccinated for first dose, 25,703 of whom had received their second doses.
Galpo added vaccine demand increased as more sectors are expressing interest to receive the jabs and get protection from the virus. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
April 26, 2024
