LIST: PH gov’t identifies priorities for Covid-19 vaccine

By Prince Golez

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases has given a greenlight on the prioritization framework for Covid 19 vaccines and the prioritization criteria within the priority group, according to Malacañang.

On Friday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the IATF also approved the recommendations of the Interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (iNITAG) and the Department of Health (DOH) Technical Advisory Group on the criteria for allocation of the first batch of Pfizer BioNTech; on health profiling, screening and informed consent in the patient pathway; and on vaccination cards.

The iNITAG adopted the following priority population groups for vaccination:

-A1: Frontline workers in health facilities both national and local, private and public, health professionals and non-professionals like students, nursing aides, janitors, barangay health workers, etc.

-A2: Senior citizens aged 60 years old and above

-A3: Persons with comorbidities not otherwise included in the preceding categories

-A4: Frontline personnel in essential sectors including uniformed personnel and those in working sectors identified by the IATF as essential during Enhanced Community Quarantine

-A5: Indigent population not otherwise included in the preceding categories

-B1: Teachers, Social Workers

-B2: Other Government Workers

-B3: Other essential workers

-B4: Socio-demographic groups at significantly higher risk other than senior citizens and indigenous people

-B5: Overseas Filipino Workers

-B6: Other Remaining Workforce

-C: Rest of the Filipino population not otherwise included in the above groups

In choosing areas for sub-prioritization, Roque said it will be based on the current active cases, attack rate per 100,000 population in the past four weeks, population density, readiness of local government units’ vaccination sites, and its supply chain capability.

The first tranche of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccines for healthcare workers, will be provided to all the Covid-19 dedicated hospitals, Covid-19 referral hospitals, DOH-owned hospitals, local government unit hospitals, hospitals for uniformed services/personnel, and private hospitals, the spokesman also said.

Meanwhile, the National Task Force, through its Vaccine Cluster Task Group on Covid-19 Immunization Program, has been directed to issue the corresponding operational guidelines.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)