Some 5,140 doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Bohol on Sunday, paving the way for a more widespread vaccination of health workers in the province.

According to Dr. Yul Lopez, “all” hospitals in the province have been allocated doses of the jab made by the British-Suede pharmaceutical giant.  

The doses were part of the province’s allocation in the national government’s mass inoculation drive.

“Ang makadawat niining mga doses sa AstraZeneca ang tanan g’yud na nga hospital sa Bohol—tanang hospital sa gobyerno lakip na ang mga hospital na gipadagan sa mga LGU, tanang mga pribadong hospital sa Tagbilaran ug sa kalungsuran na nag-duma sa mga positibo na kaso or sa COVID referral hospitals,” said Lopez.

The health official noted that the vaccination drive will start on Tuesday and will continue throughout the week.

“Ang mga bakuna gipahimutang na sa atong provincial health office cold room, gagahinanay na ug withdrawn na ang atong mga hospitals sa ilang allocated vaccines ug ilang e-implementar ang vaccination,” he added.

Governor Arthur Yap earlier announced that delivered along with the AstraZeneca vaccines were 1,340 doses of Coronavac, a vaccine developed by China-based biopharmaceutical company Sinovac.

This was the second batch of the China-made vaccines that arrived in Bohol this month.

The initial batch included 2,860 doses and were allocated for health workers at the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in Tagbilaran City, the province’s only level three COVID-19 referral health facility.

Meanwhile, the governor reminded the public that it is still necessary to follow health protocols even as the national government’s vaccination program starts in the province.

“Sa gihapon, dili ta angay mokumpyansa samtang magpaabot ta sa dugang alokasyon sa bakuna alang sa katawhang Bol-anon. Atong awhag sa tanan, sundon gihapon nato ang minimum health standards kanunay,” Yap said. (A. Doydora)