An additional 21,600 vials of Sinovac vaccines arrived at the Davao International Airport (DIA) Thursday morning, adding up to the 12,000 doses that the region received Tuesday.

Dr. Annabelle Yumang, Department of Health in Region 11 (DOH-11) director, said all the 33,600 vaccines would be allocated to the region’s health workers, including those who work in private hospitals.

Yumang said they targeted some 16,000 health workers in Region 11 who would be inoculated with the vaccine starting March 5, followed by the second dose 28 days after.

“We aim to vaccinate all eligible health workers in one week. We will cover the whole region with the level 1, 2, and 3 hospitals,” Yumang said.

In the state-run Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) alone, Yumang said around 5,900 doses were allocated for health workers.

“These vaccines are enough for our health workers. This will cover the two rounds of vaccination,” Yumang said.

Should the national government send another batch of vaccines, she said DOH would proceed to the next priority list after the health care workers.

“Senior citizens aged 60 years old and above will follow after the health workers,” she noted. (PNA)