Working adults aged 40 and above priority in A4 COVID-19 vaccination —DOH exec

Adults aged 40 years old and above, who belong to the A4 category, will be prioritized in the government's COVID-19 immunization program, Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said Sunday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Friday announced that the A4 category now includes all government and private workers, informal sector workers, and those who work in private households who need to physically report to work. 

In an interview with Dobol B TV, Vega said the government is speeding up vaccination for A1 to A3 category groups as they prepare for the vaccination of economic frontliners.

"Itong June na to, bibilisan ang A1 to A3, may special lane ho 'yan. Hindi mawawala sa vaccination centers, [at] saka sa A4 dahan-dahan na. Lalo na 40 years old, uunahin sa mga working group. Mauuna 'yung mas matanda. 'Yung vulnerability kasi sa COVID-19 mas mataas sa matatanda," said Vega.

(This June, we will speed up [vaccinating] A1 to A3 groups. They have special lanes. These will not be removed from vaccination centers even as they slowly vaccinate A4. Those aged 40 [and above] will be prioritized in the working group since they are more vulnerable to contracting COVID-19.)

Vega also noted that they are allocating most vaccines to high-risk areas such as the NCR Plus bubble (National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal), Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, Western Visayas, Cebu, Davao and Northern Mindanao.

More than 3,000 inoculation centers were set up in the Philippines so far, Vega said. He also noted that once bigger vaccination sites open, more vaccinators will be needed.

According to the National Economic and Development Authority, at least 35.5 million workers are targeted to be inoculated against COVID-19 after the government simplified the A4 category or the essential workers group. —KG, GMA News