QUESTION:
Senior citizens are the highest priority for COVID-19 vaccination
ANSWER:
As of 28 June 2021, 28.3% of the recorded 8.2 million senior citizens – the A2 priority group – have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Senior citizens are at highest risk of deaths due to COVID-19. In the Philippines, 7 out of 10 deaths are in patients 60 years old and above.
“Vaccines are an essential addition to our protective measures against COVID-19, especially with the risk of fast-spreading variants. We need to protect our senior citizens the soonest and with the highest coverage,” said Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO Representative to the Philippines.
EXPLANATION:
As the risk of the spread of new SARS-CoV-2 variants increases, Local Government Units (LGUs) must speed up the vaccination of priority groups, especially the senior citizens.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Philippines and the National Commission of Senior Citizens issued this call today amid the continuing surge in cases in several regions in the Philippines.