Bangsamoro Health Minister Dr. Amirel Usman was the first BARMM medical frontliner to get a dose of Sinovac vaccine on Friday, March 5, 2021 at the Integrated Provincial Hospital Office (IPHO) in Maguindanao. A total of 300 health workers from IPHO of the said province received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
COTABATO CITY—Three hundred (300) medical frontliners from Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) in Maguindanao were inoculated on Friday, March 5, with Sinovac vaccine.
Bangsamoro Health Minister Dr. Amirel Usman, who became the first BARMM medical frontliner to receive the initial dose of the said jab, encouraged the Bangsamoro constituents to support the government’s vaccination program.
“Although it is not imposed to everyone at hindi po ito sapilitan, but then, ang pagpapabakuna is a moral obligation of everyone,” Usman said.
He reassured that in case there will be an adverse reaction during the vaccination, Ministry of Health (MOH) will provide a medical team that will observe the receiver within 30 minutes to 1 hour.
The Maguindanao health workers signed waiver documents before getting vaccinated. The second dose of vaccine will be administered on April 2, four weeks after their first shots.
Yesterday, 4,200 vials of vaccine for Bangsamoro region arrived at Awang Airport, Maguindanao. Of which, 1,400 is intended for Maguindanao. [Related Story: 2,100 health workers to get BARMM’s first phase of Covid-19 vaccine shots]
According to IPHO Maguindanao Provincial Health Officer Dr. Elizabeth Samama, the allotted Sinovac vaccines for the province were divided into four (4) hospitals, such as the IPHO (600 vials), Buluan District Hospital (300 vials), Datu Blah District Hospital (300 vials), and Datu Odin District Hospital (200 vials).
“Today marks the beginning of that long been wished for event that a vaccine against Coronavirus Disease gets into our arms,” Samama said.
“Our gratitude for the tremendous support we received and we are receiving to continue the fight against our unseen enemy,” she added.
Buluan District Hospital will start its vaccination on March 8, while the Datu Blah and Datu Odin District Hospitals will start on March 9. (Bangsamoro Information Office)
