Non-frontliners jumping COVID-19 vaccination queue — DOH official

A health worker receives the Sinovac Biotech’s Coronavac vaccine on the first day of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) inoculation drive in the Philippines, at the Lung Center of the Philippines, Quezon City, Metro Manila, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

MANILA, Philippines — A number of individuals who are not on the COVID-19 vaccination priority list are jumping the queue to get vaccinated, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega  said Monday.

“We’ve had reports of these although we have been saying that this can’t be because we have a prioritized vaccination in terms of the healthcare workers but this has been observed,” Vega said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel when asked about reports that non-frontliners have already been vaccinated.

“The numbers are very insignificant but we do see a number jumping the queue,” he added.  

“This has been observed across the globe. There is a jump in the queue and we cannot avoid this oftentimes. Sometimes it happens, there is a jumping in the queue but it is very minimal,” said Vega.

“I’m not so sure of the specifics but I am aware that there are [people] who are really jumping on the queue, but this should be avoided because definitely this is not a priority of the vaccination process that we have,” he added. 

 Vega said penalties for non-compliance to the prioritization list are up to the National Task Force against COVID-19 and the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group.

Vega added that the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines were already given to 71 to 75 percent of healthcare workers in Metro Manila, but only around 35 percent of frontliners in provinces have been given the vaccine shots.

“So all in all, it’s still below 50 percent for all the healthcare workers vaccinated across the country,” he noted.

 The World Health Organization earlier urged the government to respect the priority list for recipients of COVID-19 vaccines provided by the Covax Facility to ensure continued supply from the vaccine sharing pool. 

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