BUTUAN CITY -- The Department of Health (DOH) Caraga has called anew local government units (LGUs) to prioritize senior citizens in the vaccination rollout.

This, after the DOH regional office recorded only 45.62% of the 200,240 elderly masterlisted in the region for the vaccination rollout. This is only a little over half of the total number of persons with co-morbidities (A3) vaccinated, which is around 90.04%.

“The target here is at least 50%. This figure is alarming especially since we intended to use the recent batches of vaccines for our senior citizens,” said Cheryl Mary Plaza of the National Immunization Program of DOH Caraga during the 38th Regional Task Force on COVID-19 (RTF COVID-19) Meeting on Wednesday, August 4.

A regional advisory was issued on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, calling on LGUs to refocus their vaccination rollout and prioritize senior citizens until Friday. They will also be prioritized in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

“We also encouraged a mobilized vaccination and conduct of a house-to-house vaccination to fast-track the rollout,” Plaza added.

Local health authorities have also pushed for the elderly to get the jabs as added protection against the deadlier variants of the virus.

“They will remain a priority since they are part of the high-risk groups. This was also specified in the four-door strategy implemented by the DOH to contain the transmission of the other variants of COVID-19, specifically the Delta variant,” said Dr. Arlien Maria Fe Buhain of DOH Caraga.

As of August 3, a total of 451,592 individuals under the priority groups A1 to A5 in Caraga have already been vaccinated. Around 91,347 comprise the A2, with 49,246 having received the Sinovac vaccines; 23,154 with the AstraZeneca vaccines; 18,828 with the Janssen vaccines; and 119 with the Sputnik V vaccines. Some 71,063 are fully vaccinated. (DMNR/PIA-Caraga)