Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero has asked the Department of Health (DOH) Center for Health Development (CHD) in Region 5 to explain why a huge chunk of the 36,800 vials of vaccines that arrived in Bicol will be allocated to Albay province and the cities of Legazpi and Naga.
According to reports, 23 boxes containing these vials of Coronavac (Sinovac vaccine) were immediately transported to the CHD 5 Cold Room for inventory and storage and set aside as follows: Albay, 10,000 vials; Legazpi City, 5,000 vials; Naga City, 5,000 vials.
The rest will be shared by the remaining five provinces in the region.
This rollout, however, did not sit well with Escudero, whose province also reported cases of COVID-19 infections, albeit low compared to other local government units.
“I hope DOH CHD 5 can explain why 54% of the vaccine allocation is going to Albay and Naga and only 46% will be distributed to the remaining five provinces of Bicol where over 70% of the population live,” Escudero posted on his Twitter account.
He noted that the DOH CHD 5 has made special allocations for the cities of Naga and Legazpi, which are separate from what will be distributed to the province of Albay and Camarines Sur.
“Why are they separating Naga from CamSur and Legazpi from Albay but is including all other cities in the Bicol region in their respective provinces?” Escudero asked.
The remaining 16,800 vials, per DOH CHD5, will be distributed to the other five provinces, namely: Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, and the island-provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate.