Some 4,990 tourism workers in Bohol are still waiting for their second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine, over two months after they were inoculated with the first dose of the Russian-made jab, a Bohol Tourism Office (BTO) official said Thursday.

According to Joanne Pinat of the Bohol Tourism Office, they have yet to receive information as to when the next supply of Sputnik V vaccines will be shipped to Bohol.

Pinat explained that the Sputnik V vaccine’s first and second doses have different components. The jab’s Component I and II are specifically for the first and second doses, respectively.

“Di sila pwede ma baylo. Very sensitive ang Sputnik kay lain-lain gyud siya og component,” said Pinat.

During the Capitol’s weekly press briefing on Friday, Provincial Health Office (PHO) officer-in-charge Dr. Yul Lopez said experts have noted that the interval between the injection of the first and second doses can be as long as six months, at most.

“Dunay initial na adivsory sa atong Department of Health ug sa mga infectious disease specialist ug epidemiologist nga lugway even after a maximum of six months gap from first and second dose sa Sputnik pwede gihapon,” Lopez said.

“Ako lang ihanyo sa mga nakadawat na dili lang mabalaka na dunay nay mga scientific evidence na
pwede pa as long as six months ang second dose,” he added.

The health official also said that the initial dose of the vaccine already has an efficacy rate of over 70 percent.

However, those jabbed with only the first dose are still not considered fully vaccinated.

On Tuesday, some 15,000 doses of the Sputnik V arrived in Manila on but there has been no announcement yet as to which sectors or local government units were allocated a share of the vaccine supply.

Lopez assured the the provincial government has been coordinating with national health authorities to appeal for an allocation of the doses.

“Dunay niabot na component II sa kauolohan mao nay atong gisegehan ron of followup nga mahatag na ang iyang second dose diri sa Bohol,” he said.

Earlier, the provincial government planned to use AstraZeneca vaccines for the second dose for the recipients of the Sputnik Component I based on the advise of national health authorities.

Lopez however clarified that this will not push through. He did not elaborate on the reason. (R. Tutas)