Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. on Monday reported that vaccine hesitancy among senior citizens had caused a slowdown in the country’s vaccination drive.
Senior citizens, or those in the A2 category, are second in the Philippines’ priority list for Covid-19 vaccination.
“Ang talagang medyo challenge po natin itong sa senior citizens. Nakikita natin na hindi pa umaangat ang first dosing natin,” Galvez told President Rodrigo Duterte during his weekly address.
“Dati almost 2 million tayo, ngayon hindi tayo umangat, kakaunti lang po ang ating nabakunahan because of some sort of hesitancy sa ating mga A2,” Galvez added.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos said local government units in the capital region would continue to prioritize senior citizens.
Mandaluyong and Pasig have vaccinated their seniors with at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccines.
The country has fully vaccinated 2,616,273 senior citizens against Covid-19. John Ezekiel J. Hirro