ANGELES City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. fielded starting Wednesday, June 30, two "medical buses" to track down some 462 bedridden senior citizens in the city's 33 barangays for anti-Covid-19 jabs.

"This is to protect all members of the senior citizen community against Covid-19, two mobile buses have been 33 barangays here to vaccinate 462 bedridden elderly in the comfort of their homes," Lazatin told local media.

He said the two mobile buses -- one owned by the City Government and one lent by the city’s Korean Community -- are expected to finish their mission in six to eight weeks.

"The mobile buses are staffed with vaccinators and doctors from the City Health Office and the Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center and are equipped with necessary medical equipment," he said.

Lazatin said "the mobilization of mobile buses for the elderly will serve as preparation for his plan to conduct house-to-house inoculation so as to reach Angeleños residing in far-flung areas such as Barangays Sapangbato and Margot."

“Kung kailangan ako mismo ang kumatok sa bahay ng ating mga senior citizens kamukha ng taon taon kong ginagawa upang mabakunahan silang lahat, ay hindi po ako magdadalawang isip gawin yun,” he said.

“Ito ay para po maseguro na ligtas ang ating mga senior citizens lalo na yung iba’t-ibang karamdaman na,” Lazatin added.

The seniors group is the second priority group to be vaccinated, based on the released guidelines of Department of Health (DOH).

Lazatin cited latest reports indicating that out of the 49,964 members of the elderly population in Angeles, a total of 12,412 seniors received their first dose of vaccine, while 262 are already fully-vaccinated.

The vaccination of the priority group of senior citizens is on schedule, he noted.

Lazatin thanked the city's Korean community for lending one of the mobile buses for the vaccination program.

The mayor has also been providing P2,000 annually to each of some 25,000 indigent senior citizens in Angeles, on top of their regular supply of Vitamin C.

Seniors not in the list of indigents also received P1,000 each last year. (Ding Cervantes/SunStar Pampanga)