DOH: Military, frontliner kin to wait turn in COVID-19 vaccine queue

The Department of Health said on Tuesday that they agreed with President Rodrigo Duterte that the families of soldiers and healthcare workers should be on the list of potential early recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine, however the DOH would still have to follow the priority list.

“Yes, we agree with the president that the families of health workers and the soldiers will be included but this is after we vaccinate the soldiers and the health workers,” Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabutaje said in a virtual forum.

“They will be provided but they will come at a later time,” she added.

Further, Cabutaje said some of the family members of the soldiers and health workers might already be included in the priority sectors since some of them might be senior citizens or part of the indigent population.

“We will see how many more we need to vaccinate among them,” she added.

Earlier, Duterte said he would seek free COVID-19 vaccinations for servicemen’s families

The President has repeatedly said state security forces would be among the first who would receive the COVID-19 vaccine once it is available.

Meanwhile, Malacañang defended Duterte’s decision to include the families of soldiers in the priority list for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Soldiers and policemen and other uniformed personnel were considered fifth priority under the government’s vaccination plan, his spokesperson Harry Roque said.

The Philippines had allocated P73.2 billion for the procurement of the vaccines, with P40 billion coming from multilateral agencies, P20 billion from domestic sources, and P13.2 billion from bilateral agreements.

The Philippines aims to begin its mass inoculation program next month. — DVM, GMA News