Family members of senior citizens play a huge part in convincing them to get vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said.
Senior citizens usually listen to their family members with regards to COVID-19 vaccination, said DOH-Health Promotion Bureau Director Dr. Beverly Ho.
“Ang mga senior citizens nakikinig talaga sila sa mga taong malapit sa kanila. It could be family or friends na nabakunahan, fellow seniors, kamajongan, kalaro sa chess, at healthcare providers na malapit sa kanila (Senior citizens listen to the people close to them. It could be family or friends who have been vaccinated, fellow seniors, their playmates in mahjong or chess, and their healthcare providers),” said Ho during a televised press briefing.
“The vaccine uptake is going to be determined by the motivation of our senior citizens to get vaccinated....We need to motivate them through ‘familiar voices’ or close to them,” she added.
The local government units (LGUs) must also ensure that their respective COVID-19 vaccination activities will be accessible to senior citizens, the DOH official said.
The LGUs may conduct registration in their barangays for those who don’t have an online access, set up call centers to answer the queries of senior citizens, extend vaccination hours, provide free transportation for senior citizens, or conduct a house-to-house vaccination, said Ho.
“ need to make sure na ang ating mga sistema ay very pro senior citizens. We are continuously encouraging LGUs to continue these best practices at palaguin pa ( need to make sure that our systems are very pro senior citizens. We are continuously encouraging LGUs to continue these best practices and enhance it),” she said.
Out of the 8.48 million senior citizens in the country, only 2.69 million or 32.57 percent have been fully vaccinated so far against the COVID-19, based on the recent data of the DOH.
Ho reiterated that senior citizens are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 and death.
“They actually account for more than 60 percent ang mga namamatay sa COVID-19 dito sa ating bansa. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit makulit tayo na dapat mabakunahan ang lahat ng senior citizens natin (They actually account for more than 60 percent of COVID-19 deaths here in our country. This is why we are eager that all our senior citizens should be vaccinated),” she said.