Anxiously waiting to finally get your COVID-19 vaccine shot? Well, you and your loved ones might be getting your shots sooner than you think. Five Metro Manila local government units (LGUs) are scheduled to receive a total of 15,000 Sputnik V vaccine doses today.
Due to logistical concerns, the first batch of the Russian vaccine manufactured by the Gamaleya Research Institute arrived on May 1 instead of the supposed April 29 schedule. Despite the hiccup, the LGU recipients—namely Muntinlupa, Taguig, Parañaque, Makati and Manila—are finally going to receive 3,000 ampoules each for the initial rollout.
Health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press briefing held today, May 3, that the chosen vaccination sites per city are as follows:
- Ospital ng Muntinlupa and Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Muntinlupa
- Lakeshore mega-complex facility in Taguig
- Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque
- Makati Coliseum in Makati
- Sta. Ana Hospital and Ospital ng Maynila in Manila
For those who will be receiving the doses, the Department of Health has prepared an information sheet about Sputnik V which includes the vaccine’s efficacy and possible adverse effects. So if you do experience effects such as hyperthermia (characterized by high-body temperature) and muscle pain, don’t panic.
In case you’re wondering whether it’s still “safe” to get the vaccine because the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) has denied import for it due to safety concerns, the Gamaleya Research Institute has claimed that the allegations “have no scientific grounds.”
“Recent inaccurate and misleading comments by Brazilian regulator Anvisa alleged detection of replicated adenovirus (RCA), a weakened viral particle that does not even cause a common cold, in Sputnik V. Gamaleya Institute confirms that no RCA was detected in any of the batches of the Sputnik V vaccine,” wrote the institute in a statement.
While the debacle has put a lot of people on the fence, what we can be sure of is how we’ll be eagerly awaiting more data on one of the government’s vaccine picks from this phase.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Communications Operations Office Facebook page
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