Groups push free jabs for seniors

A nurse injects a senior citizen with the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine at the Makati Coliseum. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — Consumer groups alliance Philippine Coalition of Consumer Welfare Inc. and grassroots organization Bayan Bakuna have called on the government to provide free influenza and pneumococcal vaccination, not just for the impoverished elderly, but to all senior citizens in the country regardless of their economic status — a similar call made by medical experts recently.

“The low vaccine uptake is primarily due to lack of awareness and the high cost of vaccines. The government’s free vaccination program stands as their only means of protection against vaccine-preventable diseases,” Philippine Coalition of Consumer Welfare Inc. founder Ricardo Samaniego said in a statement on Friday.

READ: Experts push DOH to hasten free flu shots for seniors

Roderick Alapar, the lead convener of Bayan Bakuna, stressed that senior citizens, similar to children 5 years old and younger, have the right to receive life-saving vaccines for free.

“Our government needs to start strengthening immunization efforts for our elderly population to promote a healthy aging society,” he said. “Undertaking this prioritization perfectly aligns with the eight-point agenda of the current administration.”

Under Republic Act No. 9994, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, the Department of Health (DOH) is tasked to procuring vaccines against influenza and pneumococcal diseases for indigent senior citizens, but the two groups urged to expand this service to cover all senior citizens in the country.

As of the latest surveillance data, only 36.3 percent of Filipinos aged 60 and older received a vaccine shot against influenza, which was still lower than the World Health Organization’s target of 75 percent, despite flu remaining one of the leading causes of mortality among seniors. Doctors note that up to 85 percent of flu-related deaths were from those aged 65 years and older.

Only 52.9 percent of seniors received pneumococcal vaccine, which can protect them from serious infections like pneumonia, blood infections, and bacterial meningitis.

Influenza is the fifth leading cause of morbidity, while pneumonia is the fifth top cause of death in the country.

Vaccinations generally are conducted in the third or fourth quarter of the year before the flu season, which starts from October and peaks during the colder months of January and February.