Mayor Evelio Leonardia said this city will soon be liberated from the scourge of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and has become “part of history” in the rollout of the vaccination program in Western Visayas on Friday.
“It is significant and meaningful that the first Covid-19 case in Western Visayas was recorded in Bacolod City. So, let it also be put on record and let it be part of history that the first vaccination also happened here,” he said.
Leonardia and Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran led city officials in witnessing the ceremonial vaccination program held at the Bacolod Government Center.
Six medical front-liners in Bacolod were the first to be vaccinated with the Sinovac Biotech vaccine in the region.
“We are on the road to deliverance,” Leonardia said, adding that there is no longer a reason for the public to doubt the Sinovac vaccine after the medical professionals had themselves vaccinated.
The mayor said that most people in Bacolod are adopting a “wait and see” attitude, but after seeing the doctors took part in the rollout of the vaccination program of the city, he believed that more are expected to also have themselves inoculated.
On Friday morning, some 6,270 vials of the Sinovac vaccine arrived at the Bacolod-Silay Airport in Silay City and were brought to the cold room at the Bacolod Government Center Annex Building.
The supply is intended for 3,135 healthcare workers of two Covid-19 referral hospitals in Bacolod – Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital and Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital (Riverside Medical Center).
It is the first batch of vaccines to arrive in Bacolod, which is part of the 600,000 doses donated by China to the Philippines.
Those who were vaccinated were Dr. Miguel Sarabia, president of Negros Occidental Medical Society, and wife Valerie Villarosa- Sarabia, who is a registered nurse, as well as Dr. Hector Gayares Jr., chief executive officer of Adventist International Healthcare System Philippines and medical volunteer of Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center; Dr. Dolores Rommela Tiples-Ruiz, infectious diseases specialist and president of Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases-Negros Occidental Chapter; Dr. Radela Yvonne Ramos-Cortes, an allergologist; and Dr. Carlos Javier Primicias Jr., a pediatrician.
On Thursday, Bacolod recorded no new case and zero death. It has a total of 5,838 confirmed cases, but only 69 are active. Some 5,581 have recovered and 188 deaths. (PNA)
