MANILA - Senior citizens and persons with comorbidities in San Juan are now getting vaccinated against COVID -19 as the city tackles a surge in coronavirus infections.
San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora said they would also inoculate the remaining medical frontliners who have yet to receive the anti-coronavirus jabs.
“Today is a big day for San Juan because we will be starting our simultaneous vaccinations for A2 and A3 and the remainder of A1,” he told ANC.
Due to shortage of vaccine supply, the government has prioritized health-care workers or A1 in the vaccination drive. They are followed by senior citizens aged 60 years old and above (A2) and persons with comorbidities or underlying conditions (A3).
San Juan has so far immunized 3,375 medical frontliners from the disease, which has infected nearly 5,000 people in the city.
Zamora assured the public they would strictly follow vaccine protocols set by the Department of Health amid reports of individuals jumping the queue to get vaccinated early against COVID-19.
Persons with comorbidities will have to present a medical certificate or prescription during the vaccination. Those with chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, malignancy, diabetes mellitus and obesity will be prioritized.
To date, San Juan has recorded 671 patients deemed infectious or active cases. The number of COVID-19-related fatalities stood at 116 while 4,149 people have recovered from the disease.
“We started at 61 during March 1 and it has risen to 671 in a month’s time. We are really seeing a surge here in San Juan,” Zamora said.
The city mayor warned that the San Juan Medical Center and its main quarantine facility were in full capacity.