Health workers who chose AstraZeneca still prioritized

Health workers who initially opted to wait for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine instead of receiving CoronaVac will still be prioritized for the AstraZeneca doses.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque assured that these healthcare professionals will not lose their priority status.

The government is reiterating that health workers remain the top priority in the vaccination program.

The upcoming delivery of 487,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX Facility is expected on March 4.

Roque stated that the initial recipients will be from COVID referral centers, DOH hospitals, and other public and private hospitals.

Despite the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines and the recommendation from the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG), the rollout will not commence immediately.

The Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) will still need to approve NITAG's recommendation before the vaccination program using AstraZeneca can begin.