DOH-CAR ok’s vaccination of seniors in LGUs

By Carlito C. Dar

BAGUIO CITY -- The Dept. of Health – Cordillera urged Covid-19 vaccination teams in Cordillera local government units to finalize  their Priority A1(health workers) target population vaccination  so that they can move to Priority A2 (senior citizens) using remaining Sinovac vaccine  doses allocated to them.
    As of April 18 data of DOH – CAR bared 43,926 target Priority A1 in the master list for Cordillera, 33,127 or 75.42 percent eligible population already vaccinated.
    Vaccination accomplishments vary per province or city or municipality. In the case of Baguio City that was finished with its Priority A1 target, the City Health Services Office is now into inoculating Priority A2 target population. 
    For Priority A2 master list, there are already 72,203 identified target population in Cordillera with Baguio having most number of master listed senior citizens at 21,732.
    For the provinces, there were 17,716 senior citizens in the master list of Abra, 5,994 in Apayao, 9,658 in Benguet, 6,413 in Ifugao, 4,414 in Kalinga, and 5,200 in Mountain Province.
    Regional Vaccination Operations Center chairperson and DOH – CAR regional director Dr. Ruby Constantino told provincial/city health offices to discern if they need to bring vaccines allocated to them from Priority A1 to Priority A2 in their areas of responsibility.  
“    It is important that all health workers in essential Covid-19 health care services should be vaccinated, but if there are no more volunteers or submitting themselves for vaccination, then it will be unfair if we let the willing senior citizens to wait further, she explained.
    Meantime, simultaneous with the vaccinations of the remaining Priority A1 and the rollout of Covid – 19 vaccinations for senior citizens, 7,086 out of the 9,202 health workers vaccinated during the first tranche of Sinovac vaccinations were vaccinated with their second dose. – PIA Cordillera