MANILA, Philippines — Healthcare workers, uniformed personnel, as well as the poor will be among those to be prioritized in getting the COVID-19 vaccine once it is available, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Monday.
The government has already come up with a list of priorities for COVID-19 inoculation since supply may not be enough to address the global demand for a vaccine.
Among the priorities, Duque said, are the following:
- healthcare workers, frontliners in hospitals, emergency rooms
- frontliners of agencies such as Department of Education, Department of Social Welfare and Development, barangay healthcare workers
- Employees of Bureau of Corrections, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
- Uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines
- Indigent citizens
- senior citizens
- other vulnerable population
Meanwhile, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said that priority areas for vaccination are those that were considered as the epicenter of the pandemic: Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Cebu, Davao City, and Cagayan De Oro.
“Ito ‘yung magiging major hub natin sa storage,” Galvez also said in an online media forum.
KGA
RELATED STORY
2,092 new infections logged; COVID-19 active cases rebound above 34,000