About 16k senior citizens in QC get free vaccines vs pneumonia, flu

MANILA, Philippines — Over 16,000 senior citizens in Quezon City received pneumonia and flu shots as additional protection from the coronavirus disease pandemic, the city government said Sunday.

Data from the Quezon City Public Information Office showed that 9,250 seniors got pneumococcal vaccine while 7,690 others received flu vaccines from the city health department for the duration of the community quarantine.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, meanwhile, said seniors need vaccines especially those who are still working to provide for their family.

“Ginagawa natin ito para mas maprotektahan ang ating mga lolo at lola sa banta ng COVID-19. Naiintindihan naman natin na minsan ay hindi talaga maiiwasan na hindi sila lumabas sa kani-kanilang bahay lalo na yung naghahanap-buhay pa at inaasahan ng kanilang pamilya,” Belmonte said in a statement.

(We are doing this to protect our grandparents from COVID-19. We understand that senior citizens cannot avoid going outside especially those who are still working to support their family.)

Apart from the vaccines, the city government also distributed two washable face masks to the senior citizens who received the flu shots.

As of Oct. 3, the Department of Health reported 26,839 total COVID-19 cases with 483 deaths and 21, 707 recoveries in Quezon City.

JE