MALACAÑANG has encouraged local chief executives (LCEs) to register for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination, stressing they are now included in the Priority A1 list regardless of their risk classification.
In a press briefing Monday, May 17, 2021, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) signed Resolution 115-B with the concurrence of the Interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (iNitag).
“So mayor and governors, magpabakuna na rin po tayo (get vaccinated),” he said.
Resolution 115-B includes all governors and city and municipal mayors or all local chief executives under the Priority Group A1.5 of the priority population groups for Covid-19 vaccines, regardless of the risk classification of their respective local government units (LGUs).
It was the League of Provinces of the Philippines which earlier appealed for the inclusion of the LCEs in the priority list.
The IATF agreed that “the continued implementation of proactive measures and restrictions must be put in place to slow down the surge in Covid-19 cases, stop further spread of variants, buy time for the health system to cope and to protect more lives.”
The resolution was signed Monday by Department of Health (DOH) Secretary and IATF chairman Francisco Duque III and IATF co-chairnman Karlo Nograles.
In a Sept. 30, 2020 report, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said there are 81 governors and 1,634 mayors in the Philippines.
As of Saturday, May 15, a total of 2.9 million vaccines have been administered to Filipinos, particularly workers in frontline health services, senior citizens, individuals with comorbidities and frontline personnel in essential sectors.
Of those vaccinated, 714,432 have completed their two doses of Covid-19 vaccines, said Roque.
He said the country targets to inoculate 50 to 70 percent of the country’s population by the fourth quarter of 2021.