San Lazaro Hospital runs out of vaccines early

At the San Lazaro Hospital (SLH), a tertiary facility in the city of Manila, there was not a trace of vaccine scare, but vaccine scarce after it ran out of doses of Sinovac vaccines early in the day.

According to Ian Cruz’s report on “24 Oras,” the vaccine allocation for SLH was not enough because many hospital employees decided to get vaccinated at the last minute.

Some health workers, including those from Marikina City, have expressed fears about the Chinese manufactured vaccine brand and preferred to wait for the vaccine with higher efficacy percentage.

A total of 150 staff of SLH were inoculated, but hospital spokesperson Ferdinand de Guzman said many are still in line.

“We were given 300 doses for 150 employees kaya lang lumampas po ng kaunti kasi maraming interesado na so dadagdagan daw po. We will be given additional doses of the vaccine,” de Guzman said.

Doctors said the start of the vaccination rollout in the hospital provides hope.

“Talagang natutuwa kami na at least ngayon, ito na ’yong araw na hinihintay natin sa pagbabakuna at siguro after this medyo mataas na ‘yong kompiyansa natin ‘pag humahawak ng kaso ng COVID-19,” infectious disease specialist Dr. Rontgene Salonte said.

“This is the only vaccine available in the country so we have to make the most of what we have,” SLH medical director Edmundo Lopez added.

Meanwhile, at the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, 15 of the vaccinees experienced dizziness after receiving the shot.—Ma. Angelica Garcia/LDF, GMA News