Marikina mayor not on priority list, denied Sinovac shot

Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro on Tuesday volunteered to get the Sinovac shot to encourage healthcare workers in the city to take the vaccine, but was denied  due to the government's priority list.

At the Amang Rodriguez Hospital, only 130 of the 1,200 employees who initially enlisted for the inoculation program came for their scheduled vaccination, according to a 24 Oras report by Maki Pulido.

"Healthcare workers na ito kaya I'm so frustrated. Sana ma-realize nila that opportunity they are missing," Amang Rodriguez Hospital medical director Imelda Mateo said.

Teodoro came forward to take the Sinovac vaccine to show that it is safe amid concerns of health workers and ordinary citizens.

However, he was not allowed by the Department of Health (DOH) because the doses are primarily reserved for health workers.

"Ang mahalaga merong manguna, merong maging halimbawa. Ito ang dahilan kaya kahapon ako'y nagpasiya na magpabakuna upang maging halimbawa," he said.

Teodoro said those who said no to the vaccine this Tuesday will still be vaccinated with the brand they prefer.

"Ang pagtanggi ng ating healthcare workers ay hindi nangangahulugan ng kanilang diskwalipikasyon na makatanggap ng ibang susunod pang bakuna na available," Teodoro said.

In total, 190 were vaccinated with Coronavax in Marikina this Tuesday, where 130 are healthcare workers of the said hospital.

Due to the low number of vacinees at the Amang Rodriguez Hospital, 60 employees from other hospitals were given the shots.

The 600,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses from Sinovac arrived on Sunday night at the MetroPac Movers Inc. facility in Barangay Concepcion Uno in Marikina City where they will be stored before deployment to hospitals.—Jamil Santos/LDF, GMA News