Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 15) — Millions of senior citizens in the country remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, according to a presidential adviser on the pandemic Monday, adding that vaccine hesitancy among the group remains high.
“Meron pang [There are] almost three million unvaccinated senior citizens. These are the most vulnerable among our population,” Presidential Adviser for COVID-19 Response Vince Dizon said during the Talk to the Nation briefing.
Dizon noted the difficulty in identifying the seniors who still need to be inoculated.
“It takes longer and it takes more effort to find them and to convince them to get vaccinated. Pero kritikal po ito, kaya ito ang ginagawa nating pagsusuyod kasama ang ating Department of Health at lahat ng agencies of the national government para maprotektahan ang ating seniors,” he added.
[Translation: It takes longer and it takes more effort to find them and to convince them to get vaccinated. But as this is critical, what we’re doing with the Department of Health as well as other agencies is to find and protect our seniors.]
At the briefing, Dizon said the goal was to vaccinate 90 million Filipinos by the end of Duterte’s term, noting that 61.5 million have already been inoculated.
Dizon also said administering booster shots was also a priority.
“I think it’s very important for our citizens to know that if it has already been three months since their second shots, they are qualified to get their booster shot,” he said.
Duque said there are people who might not be aware that can already get their boosters, while others believe they do not need one.
“Based on the science and experience of other countries, this provides additional protection,” he said.
