MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker has pushed for the prioritization of senior citizens — after the healthcare workers and frontliners — in administering vaccines against the 2019 novel coronavirus disease.
According to Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes of the Senior Citizens party-list, a group that advocates for the rights and welfare of the elderly, this step should be taken by the national government, especially since seniors are considered a high-risk age group when it comes to COVID-19.
“Mabigyan ng priority, mabigyan ng vaccine ang ating senior citizens next to our frontliners. Eh alam mo naman, high-risk ang ating senior citizens sa Covid-19,” he said.
(We hope they would give priority, give vaccines to our senior citizens next to our frontline workers. You know, seniors are considered at high risk in terms of Covid-19.)
But aside from that, Ordanes believes that a thorough information drive is also needed as some seniors are wary of taking a vaccine due to fears of side effects, even if scientists have attested to the vials’ efficacy.
“May mga suggestion tayo na dapat meron tayong roadmap, kailangan magkaroon ng information drive ang mga senior citizen, maipaliwanag nang maayos sa kanila dahil marami ang nagdadalawang isip na mamamayan na magpapabakuna ba sila o hindi, kasi nga may nababalitaan sila na mga side effects,” Ordanes explained.
(We made suggestions about creating a roadmap, mounting an information drive for the senior citizens, to explain things to them because a lot are having second thoughts about taking a vaccine because they have heard of the side effects.)
“Now dapat may information drive, ipaliwanag sa mga tao, di lang sa senior citizen, itong vaccine na ito para maiwasan ‘yong pangamba o takot ng ating mamamayan sa tinatawag nating side effect,” he added.
(Now, with the information drive, they should explain to the people — not only senior citizens — that this vaccine is safe to remove our people’s fears about the supposed side effects.)
As of now, the country is in talks with various pharmaceutical companies about vaccines. The national government is procuring from Sinovac, a Chinese pharmaceutical company, for its vaccination plan.
Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said that the Sinovac vaccines were chosen because these were cheap but effective.
On the other hand, more than 30 provinces and cities have already set aside funds to buy vaccines, mostly signing deals with British-Swedish company AstraZeneca.
Malacañang then assured the public that the vaccines from Sinovac are safe despite many people doubting the capabilities of the vaccines from China, and preferring those made by American and European companies.
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