Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu and nine other senior priests in the archdiocese have already received their first shot of the Sinovac vaccine this week.
The Cebu prelate, 71, received his vaccine through the Project Balik Buhay program initiated by the private sector in support of the national COVID-19 vaccination program.
A report from the news site SunStar said Archbishop Palma and the other priests were able to receive the vaccines from hospitals that had excess stocks.
“If a facility has excess vaccines that the healthcare workers won’t take, then the next in line are senior citizens,” Dr. Mary Jean Loreche of the Department of Health was quoted in the report.
Archbishop Palma tested positive for the coronavirus disease in February.
The city of Cebu in the central Philippines recorded a spike in new COVID-19 cases this week.
On April 14, the Health department recorded 108 new cases out of 1,237 individuals tested.
The last time Cebu City registered new cases in three digits was on March 26. The city has registered a total of 22,512 cases since last year.
The city recorded 20,947 recoveries and has a death toll of 830.
Regional health officials said the COVID-19 cases in the Central Visayas have stabilized due to the observance of health protocols including the wearing of masks and social distancing.
