Rural health units (RHUs) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) have launched the vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and seafarers returning to work in the next few months.
Arjohn Gangoso, Department of Health (DOH) 12 health education and promotion officer, said on Saturday they were included in the additional 20,500 doses of Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine delivered to this city and four other provinces in the region on June 24.
Gangoso said the land-based OFWs and seafarers were given a vaccine allocation after being moved up under the A1 priority group, which previously just covered the front-line health care workers.
He said it specifically covers overseas workers set to leave the country for work in the next four months.
“Those eligible should coordinate with the RHUs so they can be included in the priority list and get their schedule for vaccination,” Gangoso said in a radio interview.
He said they are required to present proofs of employment, such as a work contract and seaman’s book.
The DOH-12 delivered last Thursday about 5,000 doses of CoronaVac to this city, 5,700 to South Cotabato, 4,900 to North Cotabato, 850 to Sarangani, and 4,050 to Sultan Kudarat.
Gangoso said they were intended for the first dose of the remaining eligible individuals under A1, A2 or senior citizens, and A3 or persons with comorbidities.
As of June 23, the agency said, a total of 146,600 individuals in the region have received their first dose of AstraZeneca and CoronaVac vaccines, with 65,259 listed to have completed the required two doses.
Dr. April Mae Maquilang, immunization coordinator of the City Health Office (CHO), said they allotted an initial 50 doses of CoronaVac for eligible seafarers in the city out of the 5,000 delivered by DOH-12.
Maquilang said they also set aside 100 doses for third- and fourth-year medical students of the General Santos Doctor’s Medical School Foundation, Inc. and another 100 doses for funeral service workers.
“We have allocated additional doses to barangays with high cases of Covid-19 based on our Pareto diagram and those that have a high consumption rate of the vaccines,” she said in a report.
She said these are barangays Buayan, Lagao, Bula, San Isidro, City Heights, Labangal, Calumpang and Fatima.
The CHO reported that as of June 24, a total of 33,481 individuals in the city under priority groups A1, A2, and A3 have been vaccinated, comprising 24,216 with the first dose, and 9,265 with the second or booster shot.
Source: Philippines News Agency
