The Manila City government has started vaccinating disaster risk reduction and management personnel, social workers, and jail officers on Monday, March 22.
Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso said these sectors are part of the “Priority Group A1” identified by the government’s National COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center.
"I'm happy for them. Malapit na rin kami siguro sa kategorya na mababakunahan, medyo sa may dulo pa kasi kami eh tapos senior citizen (Maybe we are getting closer to getting vaccinated. We are still a bit at the end then the senior citizens)," Domagoso said.
The Manila Health Department said about 2,000 frontliners are expected to receive their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine at the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center and some 150 frontliners will receive Sinovac vaccine at the Sta. Ana Hospital.
According to the city government, among those who will receive the COVID-19 vaccine are personnel from the Manila Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO), social workers, members of Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs), and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
As of Sunday, March 21, about 5,406 medical frontliners, both from private and government-owned hospitals, have been inoculated in the city since the start of its mass vaccination drive.