The city of Bacolod received a commendable feedback from the Department of Health in relation to its vaccination rollout against COVID-19.
DOH National said: “In reference to the Western Visayas Center for Health Development’s report as of May 30, 2021, I want to commend the people of Bacolod under your leadership for administering 30,989 doses from the allocated 43,740. This outstanding feat can still be pushed further towards attaining our goal of population protection.”
The letter dated June 3 was signed by DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje and was addressed to Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
Cabotaje, who also heads the National Vaccination Operations Center, further said in the same letter that she “profoundly appreciates Leonardia’s unending service to the Filipino people amidst the COVID-19 pandemic” and promised that more vaccines will be sent to the City from the DOH Western Visayas Center for Health Development.
This response from Cabotaje came after Leonardia requested last May 5 the Office of Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. for additional COVID-19 vaccines in light of the sustained increase in the number of local cases in Bacolod.
On May 25, Galvez, the chief implementer and vaccine czar of the National Task Force against COVID-19, responded to Leonardia’s letter-request by favorably endorsing it to Cabotaje.
Leonardia said, “This reply from the DOH is most reassuring at a time when we are, again, in the thick of fighting a surge in our COVID cases.”
Since June 5, the national government had already sent additional 17,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines to the City.
These are now being used in the ongoing daily inoculations at the City’s vaccination centers in the Ayala Malls Capitol Central and the SMX Convention Center.
From March 5, 2021 to June 8, 2021, the Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center – Task Force (EOC-TF) recorded a total of 39,232 individuals already administered with the COVID-19 vaccines – AstraZeneca and Sinovac – provided by the national government from time to time.
Of the total, 30,328 received their first dose while the remaining 8,904 completed their second dose, the EOC data showed.
