Imee: Helping elderly get jabs vs COVID is one ‘act of kindness’ this Lent

Sen. Imee Marcos. Screen grab / Senate PRIB file photo

MANILA, Philippines—Helping senior citizens to register for COVID-19 jabs or escorting them to vaccination sites is “one relevant act of kindness” penitents could do this Holy Week, Senator Imee Marcos said on Wednesday.

Marcos noted that vaccination centers remain open even during the observance of the Holy Week.

“Help senior citizens who may be intimidated by having to register online or who may need an arm to cling to on the way to the vaccination center,” she said in a statement.

The government has already started vaccinating the elderly against COVID-19 alongside the health workers.

“You might double the kindness by checking their voter registration for next year’s crucial elections too,” the senator added.

Marcos reminded the Catholic faithfuls that alms-giving is also a “pillar of our Holy Week activity.”

“For those with much to give, let us give with all our heart. And for those with less, may we learn to share more,” she said.

Marcos noted the spontaneous practice of offering food packs and free transport to health workers and other frontliners when the pandemic first hit the country in 2020.

This, she said, “must carry on with the same resolve.”

“Let’s maintain that level of generosity and volunteerism. May we not suffer from donor fatigue,” she stressed.

Marcos also urged the Filipino Catholic community to keep “the same level of religious dedication and hope” despite the pandemic.

“In this time of great uncertainty, religious fervor cannot be suppressed,” she said.

“The pandemic has shown the helplessness of even the world’s most powerful governments, and we can only lift up our fears and our hopes to a higher power.”

JPV