BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
There were 10,620 Bacolodnons who have been inoculated against the coronavirus disease since last month, executive director Em Ang of the Emergency Operations Center said yesterday.
Of the number, 1,264 were senior citizens under the A2 category and the rest were medical frontline workers, Ang said.
With this turnout, Ang said, it is safe to say that the confidence level and acceptance rate of the Bacolodnons towards the vaccine had increased from 58 percent previously.
She also said that the vaccination at the lobby of SM City Bacolod that started yesterday will continue until all the 7,500 doses of Sinovac vaccine that were recently delivered are utilized.
Ang said one problem they encountered was that there were some people who went to the vaccination center at SM City yesterday, even if they had not registered online.
She reiterated that those who wish to be inoculated should secure an appointment, either online through tinyurl.com/bcdceironline, or in their barangays, before going to the vaccination centers, while those who have already registered should wait for a call from the EOC for their vaccination schedule.
The EOC targeted to inoculate 200 individuals yesterday and may cater to more Bacolodnons today, as long as health and safety protocols are followed.
The 5-day vaccination at the mall, or until May 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., aims to accommodate the remaining frontline healthcare workers, senior citizens, and persons with co-morbidities, who are on the priority list but have not been inoculated yet.
The start of the vaccination activity at the mall was attended by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, chair of IATF and vice chair of CoVaC, Ang – executive director of EOC and coordinator of CoVaC, secretary to the mayor Edward Joseph Cuansing, EOC deputies for medical Drs. Chris Sorongon and Anna Ma. Laarni Pornan, Contact Tracing head, Dr. Rosalie Deocampo, and Ben Arnel dela Cruz of Department of Health Western Visayas.
Aside from SM, the city government, through the EOC, is also negotiating with the management of other malls for the possible setting up of vaccination centers in their establishments. Ang said they are set to put up vaccination centers at the Ayala Malls Capitol Central and at Robinsons Place this week after their ocular inspections.*
