Mayor, senior citizens in city get COVID-19 vaccine jabs

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas received his first dose of China’s Sinovac vaccines on April 22, 2021 along with senior citizens (60 years old and above) and immunocompromised individuals as the COVID-19 vaccination rollout continues in the metro.

Treñas, who is also a senior and an immunocompromised individual, was vaccinated at the West Visayas State University-Medical Center (WVSU-MC) with the presence of his doctors.

“As your mayor with comorbidities and a senior citizen, I volunteered myself in this initiative to encourage more people to take their part in saving the world. When vaccines were discovered, a glimmer of hope opened. In the past few weeks, we have started the vaccination program for our frontliners, senior citizens, and immunocompromised individuals as they are more susceptible to the risks of the deadly virus,” he said in his statement on Thursday.

Treñas said he needs to ensure that the citizens of the metro are safe. Hence, by getting inoculated, he hopes to take part in preventing the spread of the virus and encourage more Ilonggos to get the vaccination.

“As the father of Iloilo City, it is my responsibility to ensure that my children are safe. Ginaagda ko guid ang tanan nga indi magkahadlok sa pagpabakuna bangud ini ang makabulig para sa aton padayon nga pag-uswag. Let us do our share and protect our loved ones and our community,” he added.

Aside from the mayor, Iloilo City Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo also received his first COVID-19 vaccine jab on Thursday.

The 72-year-old Peñaredondo said he felt at ease after receiving the vaccine as he is now finally protected from the Covid-19 virus.

“Wala man [side effects], daw normal man may alay lang.  I’m at ease kay I am protected with the dose of vaccine, confident ko na safe na as far as the virus is concerned amo na dapat tanan mapabakuna. Bag-o magmasakit dapat may ara na kita proteksyon,” he said in an interview of the Uswag Patrol program.

The two officials are among the senior citizens and immunocompromised individuals who were inoculated as part of the city’s Covid-19 vaccination roll-out.

On Thursday alone, the city government targets to vaccinate almost 1,000 senior citizens and immunocompromised individuals who are the most vulnerable to the risks of the virus.

The city government has started vaccinating the vulnerable sector of the population this week at the designated vaccination centers particularly at the Central Philippine University (CPU) and at SM City Iloilo.

Currently, the local authorities are accommodating senior citizens and immunocompromised individuals who pre-registered for the city’s vaxx program and whose names were forwarded to the city’s health centers.

Jeck Conlu, spokesperson of the Iloilo City COVID-19 Team, said that they are happy with the vaccination turnout as it revealed that a lot of elderly in the metro are eager to get vaccinated.

“So far madamo ang gusto mapabakuna, ginakalipay ini naton especially sa mga seniors. Nakit-an naton wala pa nagbukas ang mga vaccination sites, ari na di sila, temprano pa sila so damo gid gusto magpabakuna pero ginamanage lang naton kay limited pa subong aton supply sang bakuna,” he said.

Conlu said 1,119 senior citizens, persons with comorbidities, and barangay health emergency response team members received the jabs yesterday.

By July, the city government is hoping to inoculate more residents and workers in the metro as it will be expecting additional doses of Covid-19 vaccines with the arrival of Astrazeneca vaccines.  (ERS)