Gov’t to study proposal to line up reps for seniors at vaccination sites – Macalintal

A proposal to have representatives line up for seniors at COVID-19 vaccination sites is being explored by the government. PHOTO by ABC

MANILA, Philippines — The proposal that representatives of senior citizens be allowed to stand in line at COVID-19 vaccination sites — to protect them from heat-borne diseases and other health conditions — will be carefully studied by the government, lawyer Romulo Macalintal said.

According to Macalintal, a long-time advocate of senior citizen rights, they got word from Health Secretary Francisco Duque about the proposal being forwarded to the National and Local Vaccine Operations Center “for immediate consideration.”

Macalintal also said on Wednesday that Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Martin Diño said that he would recommend the proposal to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), the governing body tasked to handle COVID-19 response.

“In reply to our proposal that seniors citizens (SCs) be allowed to be represented by their healthier or able-bodied relatives or companions as they line-up at the vaccination areas to protect them from heat-related illnesses, we just received yesterday (April 27) a text message from Health Secretary Francisco Duque giving due consideration to such proposal,” Macalintal said in a statement.

“Duque said that he will refer it ‘to the National and Local Vaccine Operations Center for immediate consideration.’  He added that ‘we will give advisory to the Local Vaccine Operations Center to support your recommendation’” he added.

Macalintal further explained that they made this proposal because they observed that senior citizens would have to endure long lines in a hot and dry environment — as it is the country’s dry season — before they could get vaccinated.  Afterward, health workers would observe them for any adverse effects at an extremely hot or poorly ventilated area.

The intense heat would be detrimental to the elderly who have illnesses and medical conditions that are aggravated by it.

What they suggest, Macalintal said, is to have relatives or representatives of the elderly line up so that they can stay at a holding area or a cooler environment before they get vaccinated.

“Our proposal was based on our experience and observation that many SCs, in some areas, have to fall in line and wait for hours at a very hot or poorly ventilated waiting areas which may endanger their health, especially those with health or medical conditions as they could suffer from heat-related illness,” he noted.

“Thus, with their relatives lining up for them, the SCs may just be made to wait in a holding area which is properly ventilated and will only be called when it is already their turn to be vaccinated.  In this way, our SCs and even PWDs will not be exposed to a very hot waiting area which, as stated, could greatly affect their health conditions,” he added.

COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out to reduce infections, especially as Metro Manila and adjacent provinces cope with a surge in cases. Senior citizens or those aged 60 and over are considered priority cluster A2, second only to the top priority, which is those working in health facilities.

While the surge has slowed a bit, and active cases are dropping, the infection rate is still a lot higher than it was before the surge. As of Wednesday, the case count was at 67,769, with over 10,000 recoveries.

READ: DOH: 6,895 new COVID-19 cases push PH’s total active infections to 67,769 

The Department of Health said the country has already vaccinated more than 1.8 million doses.

READ: Over 1.8M COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far in PH 

Macalintal said they are even thankful to the mall owners and local government units for taking steps to ensure the safety of senior citizens in the vaccination sites.

“But we are thankful to several mall owners and establishments for allowing some local government units to use their properly ventilated and shaded covered parking areas as vaccination centers,” Macalintal said.

“We also take note of some LGUs who have taken appropriate measures and systems to ensure the protection and comfort of our senior citizens while waiting to get vaccinated,” he added.

abc