Follow priority list in vaccination – Robredo

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday urged authorities to ensure those listed as priority groups for the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program would get inoculated first.

She also called on Filipinos to remain vigilant, despite the arrival of the initial batch of donated COVID-19 vaccines, amid the rise in cases in the past days particularly in the National Capital Region.

“It’s really better to wait until we are prioritized because there are essential workers who have higher risk of exposure than us, so we have to follow that (priority list),” Robredo said in her weekly program over dzXL.

The Vice President made the call after Quezon Rep. Helen Tan had been able to skip the line for coronavirus inoculation.

Tan, whose son works as a surgeon at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, got herself vaccinated with Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine. She claimed she was part of her son’s allocation for family, but vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said there is no such directive for now.

Robredo said VIPs getting COVID-19 jabs ahead of health workers and other vulnerable groups are also reported in other countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the Philippines must vaccinate medical frontliners, seniors and those with comorbidities first to ensure the unhampered supply of vaccines from the COVAX Facility.

The Philippines received last week 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca from the WHO-led COVAX, a scheme that helps ensure equitable distribution of vaccines to poor nations.

Prior to AstraZeneca jabs, the country also received 600,000 doses of China-donated COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac Biotech.