IN addition to its supplies of the British-Swedish AstraZeneca vaccines and Chinese-made Sinovac jabs, the city is expecting the arrival of jabs of the Russian-made Sputnik vaccine and the American Pfizer vaccine.
Some 300 jabs of Gamaleya-Sputnik V have already arrived in advance of the main batch of Sputnik vaccine doses, administered initially on Thursday after health workers were familiarized with the vaccine.
According to Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, the remaining 10,080 jabs of Sputnik vaccine procured by the city will arrive by next month in July.
Meanwhile, ahead of the Russian jabs, the city is expecting to receive some of its procured 35,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this month.
Supplies of the currently utilized Sinovac and AstraZeneca continue to be procured as well, and the city is also expecting to receive shipments of the American Moderna vaccine starting July.
Magalong said that the city is eligible to receive and use Moderna, Pfizer and Sputnik vaccines due to its acquisition of ultra-cold storage freezers needed by said vaccines for proper storage.
According to Magalong, the city has currently vaccinated some 28,000 citizens with the first shot of the available vaccines, while some 16,000 have already received their second shot..
The numbers are still shy of the estimated 64,000 members of the A1 (frontline health workers), A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (adults with controlled comorbidities) that have to be vaccinated in the city.
The target population for vaccination is expected to increase as registration for A4 or essential workers started last week.
Essential workers are those in the commuter transport(land, air, water) and logistics; vendors in groceries, supermarkets supply and delivery; manufacture of food and pharmaceutical products,retail and delivery; financial workers both in the public and private sector;religious leaders; media, telecom and electricity services delivery; OFWs for deployment in two months;frontline government workers;law,justice and those in the social services;transport,quarantine and workers’ safety and Covid response;tax collection workers,those with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
As of date,6,756 in the A4 or essential workers’ category have enlisted through bakuna.baguio.gov.ph;with jabs to start once vaccines arrive.
However, the city is moving to start vaccination on the A4 (essential frontline personnel) priority vaccination group, and will instead provide a “fast lane” to cater to straggler members of the first three priority groups.
Some 240,000 people still need to receive vaccinations, with Magalong estimating an “ambitious” target of 80 percent of the city vaccinated by October.
