90% of Taguig City health care workers get COVID-19 jabs

The Taguig government on Thursday said 90% of its medical workers were already inoculated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) using vaccines made by China's Sinovac and British-Swedish biotech firm AstraZeneca.

In a press statement, the local government said this includes "doctors, nurses, other public and private healthcare workers, and those working in COVID-19 referral hospitals in the city."

The city government also appealed to those belonging to the A1 priority list to coordinate with their medical institutions for immediate vaccination.

"If you belong in this category, you can still get vaccinated any time. You may reach out to the medical institution you work for, as the City has already established lines with them," read the statement posted on Facebook.

Two days ago, the health workers in Taguig also received their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

After health workers, the local government said senior citizens and people comorbidities would be vaccinated as per guidelines of the Department of Health.

Registrants of the local immunization programs were asked to wait for their schedule, which will depend on the arrival of vaccines procured by the national government.

"For those who have registered but have not yet been scheduled, the Vaccine Task Force will alert you via the phone number or email you have provided once we have a schedule available. As of now, our vaccination rollout is dependent on the supply sent to us," the city government said.

"For now, we will continue to schedule vaccination for Taguigueños based on deliveries by the national government," it added.

The Taguig City government said it is expecting the arrival of procured vaccines by the third quarter of 2021 that will be distributed for free to all residents. The LGU ordered vaccine doses from drug manufacturers AstraZeneca, Covaxin, Covovax by Novovax, and Moderna.

However, the city government said non-residents but those working in Taguig will have to wait until the majority of Taguigeños are inoculated.

"Once our LGU-procured vaccines come and the majority of our residents are fully vaccinated, the City of Taguig will offer vaccination to the non-resident workforce," the local government explained.

As of April 1, Taguig logged a total of 14,619 confirmed cases of the illness caused by the novel coronavirus with 185 deaths and 14,344 recoveries as well as 100 active cases. -- Consuelo Marquez/BAP, GMA News