Vaccination of seniors starts in San Juan, Mandaluyong

MANILA, Philippines — The cities of San Juan, Mandaluyong and Caloocan yesterday started vaccinating the elderly and residents with comorbities against COVID-19.

The San Juan City government said it inoculated 160 seniors with AstraZeneca’s vaccine as well as 64 healthcare workers and 43 people with comorbidities with Sinovac’s jabs.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who attended the vaccination, said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed the simultaneous vaccination of remaining health workers and the first batch of elderly and people with comorbidities to speed up the vaccination process.

The city government aims to inoculate 600 to 800 individuals today and will continue throughout the Holy Week except on Good Friday.

Mayor Francis Zamora said that as of yesterday, San Juan has 671 active cases.

“We started at 61 on March 1… We are really seeing a surge here in San Juan,” he said, urging residents to follow health protocols as Kalinga Center, the city’s main quarantine facility, is operating beyond its capacity with 122 of 120 beds occupied.

Mandaluyong Mayor Menchie Abalos said 535 seniors received AstraZeneca vaccine yesterday. The vaccination of seniors will run until next week.

Dr. Alex Sta. Maria, city health officer, said about 5,000 of Mandaluyong’s 27,000 elderly residents registered for vaccination.

As of Monday, Mandaluyong recorded 132 new active cases, brining the total number to 908. The city also 8,783 confirmed cases since March last year, with 7,643 recoveries and 232 deaths.

Vulnerable residents take shots in Caloocan

The Caloocan City government yesterday started the vaccination of residents with comorbidities who are vulnerable to COVID-19.

The vaccination of those with comorbidities aged 18 to 59 was held at the covered court of the Caloocan city hall-North, as well as in Llano Senior High School, Pangarap Elementary School and Caloocan High School.

At least 300 slots were opened yesterday at each vaccine site, according to Mayor Oscar Malapitan.

The city government also inoculated 250 senior citizens in Barangay 8 and at least 186 employees of the Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital yesterday.

There were 1,052 active cases in Caloocan as of Monday.

In Navotas, 200 senior citizens received the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, according to Mayor Toby Tiangco.