Actor Mark Anthony Fernandez falls under A3 category, says Parañaque CHO
By Dhel Nazario
Amid allegations that some officials are jumping the line to get the COVID-19 vaccine, actor Mark Anthony Fernandez came under fire as news that he got an AstraZeneca jab in Parañaque City broke out on Wednesday, March 24.
Dr. Olga Virtusio, Head of the City Health Office (CHO) of Parañaque City, said that Fernandez, like any other Parañaque resident, passed through the regular procedure such as applying and registering to be vaccinated.
"During the screening, he passed the screening because he has a comorbidity. He's a hypertensive individual," Virtusio said in a phone call.Â
She added that Fernandez falls under A3 on the vaccine priority list which are persons with comorbidities.
In a separate interview on ANC on Wednesday, Mayor Edwin Olivarez said that they are almost done vaccinating health workers in the city which is at 95 percent so they have now moved to those next in the priority list.Â
He explained that there was a new guideline for AstraZeneca which enabled them to make use of the doses supposedly reserved for the second jab on people who are next on the priority list.
He added that because of this new development, they did not violate any instructions from the Department of Health (DOH). According to Olivarez, they are vaccinating senior citizens and those with comorbidities.