DOH urges LGUs to prioritize 40-59 economic frontliners for vax

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III urged local chief executives to prioritize vaccinating A4 economic frontliners aged 40 to 59 years old due to limited COVID-19 vaccine supply.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) expressed support for this call, stating that LGUs can proceed with inoculating other ages under the A4 category once vaccine supply stabilizes.

This age stratification strategy is at the discretion of LGUs and companies handling the vaccine rollout for the A4 category.

The DOH's guidelines allow for stratifying workers by age to prioritize those more vulnerable to COVID-19, with individuals aged 40-59 being prioritized over those aged 18-39.

This recommendation was made in anticipation of insufficient vaccine shipments for the entire A4 group for the month.

The vaccination of economic frontliners is proceeding concurrently with the ongoing inoculation of remaining health workers, senior citizens, and individuals with comorbidities.

The Philippines has received approximately eight million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since the program began in March.