Quezon City to crack down on vaccine line jumpers

MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government yesterday warned non-frontliners to refrain from jumping the line for COVID-19 vaccines.

Following allegations that there were non-frontliners who have already received vaccines, Mayor Joy Belmonte said severe punishments await those who jump the line and health workers who allow it to happen.

“We will look into all of these allegations. If proven, we won’t let them get away with this. We are doing everything to ensure that we will be penalized,” she said.

Belmonte reminded city health workers to strictly adhere to established protocols on the administration of the vaccines in accordance with the prescribed order of priority.

“If we do not follow the law, we will no longer receive the vaccines needed by our health workers and would enable them to do their jobs without endangering themselves,” she added.

City legal officer Orlando Casimiro said those involved in the undue and premature administration of vaccines shall be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, citing the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.

Show-cause orders will also be issued by the city government to the employees identified to have been involved in the incident, Casimiro added.

He added that complaints may also be filed before the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the People’s Law Enforcement Board if police officers are involved.

The city did not disclose details of the supposed allegations regarding line jumping in vaccine queues.

City health officer Esperanza Arias said that the city government is strictly following the priority listing of the Department of Health and would not allow any cutting in the vaccination queue.

“Even if they have already pre-registered on our website, they will still undergo an intensive screening from our city officers on-site to ensure that they are really part of the priority group, specifically in the A1 bracket,” she said.

The A1 priority group includes medical and non-medical personnel of correctional facilities, caring facilities, workers in stand-alone clinics and laboratories, emergency medical teams and uniformed personnel assigned in lockdown areas, administrative staff and maintenance employees.

Arias said walk-ins are still prohibited in the vaccination sites. She urged the public to refrain from going to the vaccination site if they do not belong to the priority population being immunized.

“Please understand that we have to strictly follow the protocol and the recommended priority listing. That is why we had to turn some of them down even if they are already in the venue,” she said.