Ilokano doctors are province’s first vaccinees
A top medical consultant of Ilocos Norte’s Task Force Salun-at (Health) is among the firsts to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, shortly after the initial supply arrived in the province.
On March 6, Dr. Norman Rabago, the Task Force’s Vaccination Program head, and Dr. Walberg Samonte, Medical Chief of Ilocos Norte’s flagship hospital, took the lead in receiving Sinovac shots at the Governor Roque B. Ablan Sr. Memorial Hospital (GRBASMH) in Laoag City.
Moreover, the Laoag City General Hospital (LCGH) and the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) in Batac City also conducted ceremonial vaccination rollouts, simultaneous to that of the GRBASMH. LCGH infectious diseases specialist Dr. Crizelda Derpo and Dr. Jose Orosa III, MMMH&MC’s chief of the medical professional staff were among the firsts to be vaccinated.
Almost 1, 200 medical frontliners from three medical institutions have registered to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Of those, about 200 were inoculated within the first two (2) days of the rollout.
“I believe the benefits outweigh the risk and we just need confidence in taking the vaccine,” Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc urged.
“This is a significant and monumental day. [However,] I hate to be a downer but this may be the beginning of the end, but this is not the end－this is something we should remember and be mindful of.
Alam ko po na sawang-sawa na po tayo sa COVID-19 but as we know, kahit na may bakuna, there is no guarantee pa rin.So we ask even those who are vaccinated to continue to wear masks and distance for their safety and the safety of others,” he continued.
On the evening of March 5, Gov. Marcos Manotoc, along with the members of Task Force Salun-at, received a total of 2,446 doses of Sinovac from the Department of Health-Region I.－PGIN-CMO
