CLOSE TO 7,000 ESSENTIAL WORKERS INOCULATED AS BAGUIO OPENS VACCINATION TO A4 CATEGORY

July 2, 2021 – A total of 6,845 essential workers in the city received their Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines as the city opened the vaccination program to the A4 priority group composed of economic frontliners.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong gave the green light to A4 rollout last June 25 stressing the need to give immediate protection to members of the said sector being the prime movers of the city’s industries constantly exposed to the threat of the virus.

City Health Officer Dr. Rowena Galpo said that considering limitations in vaccine supply and the sheer number of vaccinees belonging to the A4 category, they needed to do prioritization based on factors such as the number of cases or those with clustering of cases and the level of risk the work entails.

Initial slots were given to workers in the industries of food, retail, deliveries, groceries and supermarkets, media and government offices but with age limit.

The Inter-Agency Task Force and the Dept. of Health have set a list of the sectors belonging to the A4 classification but gave local government units a free hand on which sub-groups to prioritize depending on the need and situation.

Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 117 narrowed down

 the definition of economic frontliners so that the following are the workers who are considered part of A4:

1. Private sector employees who are required to work outside their places of residence

2. Employees of government agencies, government corporations, and local government units

3. Informal sector workers who are self-employed who may be required to work outside their residences, and those in private households

Local governments were also allowed to prioritize vaccinating economic frontliners who are aged 40 to 59 years old. – Aileen P. Refuerzo