Simultaneous coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccinations for various priority groups were launched in two shopping malls in this city starting Monday.

The vaccination rollout is being held at the SM City Bacolod and Ayala Malls Capitol Central under the supervision of the Emergency Operations Center Task Force (EOC-TF) and the Covid-19 Vaccination Council (CoVaC).

City Administrator Em Ang, EOC-TF executive director, said the vaccination is given for free for the remaining frontline healthcare workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities.

Using Sinovac’s CoronaVac, the city government started the mall vaccination rollout at SM City Bacolod on May 3 to 6. Some 1,690 Bacolodnons were inoculated during the four-day activity.

On May 8, the vaccination proceeded to the Ayala Malls, with 280 individuals getting vaccines on that day.

During the resumption of the rollout on Monday, the vaccination activities are now being held simultaneously in the two malls, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Being accommodated are those who have completed their vaccination registration and have received a call or text from EOC of their confirmed appointments.

An individual’s schedule comes on a first-come, first-served sequence based on the order of the registration into the city’s database.

The vaccination rollout continues as the city logs more Covid-19 cases everyday, with 43 new cases, but with 34 new recoveries on May 9.

Bacolod has a total of 8,019 cases, of which 935 are active.

Last week, Mayor Evelio Leonardia requested additional vaccine allocation from the national government through Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the chief implementer of the National Task Force Against Covid-19.

The mayor told Galvez that the city is “being hit hard by this new wave of Covid-19 infections” and “ramping up our vaccination program will be critical to saving lives and restoring economic activity in our city”.

“We will spare no effort to ensure that Bacolodnons can get vaccinated quickly and effectively,” he added. (PNA)