Local government units must submit their master list of frontline workers or those belonging to the Priority Group A4 in preparation for a “midyear surge” of vaccine doses arriving in the country, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said on Sunday.
“We are expecting more and more doses to come in this May, with more doses compared to the volume we expect for April, and then by June it will be even higher than what we will get in May. The expected July volume is higher than June’s,” Nograles said in an interview with dzBB.
“So in preparation for the midyear surge of vaccine supply, at the very least we must have a master list so that we in the national government, at the Department of Health, will be able to program the allocation per LGU. We do not want surprises,” he added.
The A4 category covers frontline workers in the transportation sector, manufacturing, government services, hotels, education, and media, among others.
So far, only frontline medical workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities have been inoculated.
Meanwhile, senators welcomed the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to include frontline media workers in the updated list of sectors under Priority Group A4.
Senator Joel Villanueva said those who keep the people informed are as essential as those who teach, transport, feed, and protect the public.
“By vaccinating them, we end up being protected as well. But in the case of our essential workers, there is double protection: aside from lives, livelihoods are likewise made safe,” he added.
Senator Christopher Go, for his part, urged the Department of Health to spread out vaccination centers in barangays and even consider administering vaccines in villages or smaller residential clusters.
“Bringing vaccines to smaller residential clusters, like villages, sitios, or subdivisions, will avoid overcrowding in existing vaccination centers and will prevent the further spread of COVID-19,” Go said.
“As we expect more vaccines to be delivered and as we have also widened the priority list to cater to more essential sectors, we must keep on ramping up and speeding up the vaccination rollout to achieve herd immunity,” he added.
