BACOLOD CITY - Mayor Evelio Leonardia announced on Wednesday that the City of Bacolod is getting 650,000 AstraZeneca doses to start off the city's vaccination program against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
This development came after Leonardia signed a deal with the Oxford-British firm last week, allocating P300 million for the procurement of COVID vaccines.
“This is a giant leap towards realizing our vaccination goals,” the mayor said.
Leonardia said that this means that a very substantial number of the population can be vaccinated as soon as the product becomes available in the country.
He admitted that he was excited to make the announcement after getting AstraZeneca's consent due to the confidentiality clause in the agreement.
The city government of Bacolod signed a multilateral agreement with AstraZeneca and national government agencies, and a confidentiality agreement with AstraZeneca here on January 7.
"This is definitely a very good start," he said as he thanked the City Council for its support and cooperation.
The city has already identified the 22 sites to be used as vaccination centers.
1% COVID positivity rate
The city continues to record a decreasing trend in the number of COVID-19 positive cases based on the data of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)- Task Force.
The latest data released on January 10 showed that only 0.52 percent, or less than one percent turnout, was recorded which was derived from 191 specimens sent to the Department of Health (DOH)-accredited molecular laboratories.
As of January 11, Bacolod has already tested a total of 49,920 individuals in the six operational molecular laboratories in the city.
“We have consistently maintained our fresh cases to a single digit and we have also maintained our testing average of 160 to 200, and sometimes 200 to 300 per day when there are no holidays,” said EOC deputy for medical and data assessment Dr. Chris Sorongon.
This is to dispel rumors that our COVID-19 cases dropped because we did not perform testing, he added.
Sorongon reminded the public to always observe minimum health protocols, such as the wearing of face masks and face shields, frequent washing of hands, and observance of physical distancing.
“Let’s not be complacent and let's always be responsible,” he said.