DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 11 March) – The city government will start the inoculation of a total of 77,189 indigent and non-indigent senior citizens against COVID-19 once the vaccination of all frontline health workers is completed, City Health Office acting head Dr. Ashley Lopez said.
Senior citizens are individuals who are 60 years old and above.
In his program over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Wednesday, Lopez said the city is currently negotiating with private primary and secondary hospitals to serve as host facilities for the vaccination of senior citizens identified based on the list of the Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs.
He said the local government wants to get senior citizens vaccinated in the hospitals as they have to be monitored immediately after taking the vaccine.
He said senior citizens, as vulnerable individuals, are on the government’s priority list for vaccination against the deadly disease.
Lopez added they hope to complete the vaccination of all frontline health workers in two weeks.
After senior citizens, Lopez said the city will proceed with the vaccination of 432,549 indigent Dabawenyos based on the list of the City Social Welfare and Development Office, and to be followed by 5,200 members of the security forces.
The Davao Region has been allocated 33,600 doses of Sinovac by the national government. Of the total, 20,000 doses were given to the city.
The number could vaccinate 10,000 individuals because each person needs to get two doses.
The city has a total of 16,800 frontline health workers who need to get vaccinated, Lopez said.
Aside from Sinovac, he added that 20,000 doses of vaccines developed by British firm Astrazeneca in collaboration with Oxford University arrived in the city Wednesday.
The city targets to inoculate around 1.2 million people to achieve “herd immunity.” (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
