Duque reminds LGUs to prioritize health workers, elderly in COVID-19 vax drive

MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga – Health Secretary Francisco Duque on Tuesday (July 6) reminded local governments to prioritize health workers under the A1 priority group and elderly persons under the A2 category in their vaccination drive. Duque, chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), stressed this during the ceremonial vaccination of five employees in essential sectors at the Clark Freeport Zone. Frontline workers in essential sectors are categorized under the A4 priority group. During the brief pre-vaccination program, Duque said local governments here and in other parts of the country should not ignore the need to vaccinate first all health workers and elderly residents. “The reason is obvious. Most of those who died from COVID-19 belong to these groups. It’s them who overwhelm intensive care unit beds. While we need to vaccinate the A4 priority group, we still need to vaccinate first all of those under the A1 and A2 groups,” he said. Using the first dose of Sinovac, Duque vaccinated one of the essential sector employees. During the event, vaccination czar and Bases Conversion and Development president Vivencio Dizon disclosed that some 12 million Filipinos had received their first or full doses of COVID-19 vaccines. He said the 11 million-figure last week increased by 1 million within the past four days, expressing his confidence that the government would achieve herd immunity within this year. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque recognized the private industry’s participation in having their employees vaccinated against the viral disease. But Roque reminded private companies that they still have to enter into an agreement with the IATF-EID and Department of Health to import vaccines. INQ

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