A partylist lawmaker has appealed to Metro Manila mayors to allow house-to-house vaccinations against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for senior citizens aged at least 70 and above, as well as persons with disabilities (PWDs).
In a letter to Metro Manila Council chairman Edwin Olivarez, Senior Citizens Partylist Representative Rodolfo Ordanes said local government units (LGUs) should develop and implement an action plan where they can be vaccinated in the safety of their homes instead of requiring them to go to vaccination centers to get vaccinated.
Citing data from the World Health Organization, Ordanes said senior citizens at least 70 years of age and PWDs are the most vulnerable to the transmission of COVID-19 and to possibly becoming a fatality of the pandemic.
“Considering these troubling courses of events, the inherent vulnerabilities of senior citizens and PWDs, and the high population density of Metro Manila, this representative humbly suggests that we cannot further risk the lives and welfare of our senior citizens and PWDs by pushing them to go out of the safety of their homes for them to be able to get their vaccinations,” the legislator said.
“The house-to-house vaccination can be done on a targeted basis.”
In a separate statement, the lawmaker suggested that the house-to-house vaccination can be done on a targeted basis by concentrating efforts on specific areas where the spread of COVID-19 has been high.
“The house-to-house vaccination for PWDs and seniors at least 70 years old I have asked the Metro Manila mayors (that it) does not necessarily have to happen now on a large scale,” he said. “Conditions and variables at present are not conducive for proper large-scale implementation of the house-to-house vaccination.”
“This method will help in ensuring high rates of vaccination among senior citizens and PWDs.”
Ordanes said this method would not only help in ensuring high rates of vaccination among senior citizens and PWDs by making it convenient and easy for them but would also safeguard the protection of their lives and welfare by minimizing the risk of possible exposure to COVID-19.
“It cannot be denied that house-to-house vaccination must be done. The LGUs just have to allocate some ample resources to make it happen on a targeted basis,” he said.
Ordanes said that aside from vaccine supply, the Metro Manila mayors also have to consider cold storage, logistics, security, and crowd control, which get difficult to do when done on a large scale.
“But it can be done, so it would be wise to prepare for it now before the main bulk of the vaccine shipments arrive later in the 3rd and 4th quarters of this year,” he said.
Based on the April 22 data of Bloomberg and Foreign Service Posts, the Philippines ranks fourth behind Indonesia, Singapore, and Myanmar in the vaccination program.
The Philippines began to roll out COVID-19 vaccines on March 1, starting with healthcare workers (A1 priority group).
About 86 percent or 3,025,600 out of the 3,525,600 doses of the country’s available vaccines have been distributed nationwide, particularly in high-risk areas.
As of April 28, a total of 1,809,801 doses of both CoronaVac and AstraZeneca jabs have been administered – 88% or 1,562,815 doses of which were first shots while 246,986 doses or 14% were second shots.
To date, the government is also vaccinating the A2 (senior citizens), and A3 (persons with comorbidities) groups.