DOH: 116,000 healthcare workers in Metro Manila listed for COVID-19 hits

MANILA – Some 116,000 healthcare workers in Metro Manila were initially included for COVID-19 vaccination, the Health Department said on Friday, as the agency finalizes its master list of eligible recipients.

Dr. Razel Nikka Hao, deputy of DOH’s COVID-19 surveillance and rapid action unit, said the data came from presentations from different health facilities in the Philippine capital, which is the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis.

“At this point, we are in the master listing process for group A1 or for all workers in frontline healthcare services,” he told a news conference.

“As early as January this year, we have contacted the facilities and local governments that will comprise this A1 group.”

In the government’s vaccination plan, healthcare workers must first receive COVID-19 injections. They are followed by older people, people with underlying comorbidities or conditions, other essential workers, including uniformed personnel, and the indigent population, all in group A.

Next on the priority list is group B, which are other front-line workers and special population. The remaining population or group C is at the bottom of the stack.

Hao said the number of eligible healthcare workers may also change as the healthcare facilities were in the process of profiling their staff.

Meanwhile, the master list of other priority groups will come in the coming months, he said.

“They are still in the process of reviewing each member of their staff to find out who has comorbidities or exclusion,” Hao added.

The health agency is already coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and other groups for an initial list of the elderly and homeless.

DOH previously said it was ready to finalize on February 15 the list of healthcare workers who will be prioritized in the government’s mass vaccination program. He plans to start immunization this month.

The coronavirus vaccine developed by US drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech will likely be used to inoculate healthcare workers, the Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday.