City government denies “backer system” in vaccine listing

The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination program was recently marred by a social media post insinuating that there is a backer system in the listing of persons prioritized for inoculation. This issue was, however, denied by Maasin City Mayor Nacional V. Mercado during a press conference last August 4, 2021.
To the complaint that some of Maasinhons got their vaccinations but were not actually qualified to be on the priority list, Maasin City Health Unit Officer Dr. April Gervie Macabuhay, in a chat interview, clarified the allegation. She said that they follow guidelines set by the Department of Health for the allocation and prioritization, and that the Department of Interior and Local Government is also monitoring. They only vaccinate those who are in the priority list of A2 (senior citizens), A3 (persons with comorbidities with medical certificate and OFW’s), said Dr. Macabuhay.
“We had discrepancies on the listing from barangay health workers, such as a person was listed as senior citizen but was actually not. Who doesn’t want to get vaccinated, we all do, right? Sometimes also, due to lack of area when our City Gym is used, we can’t fully entertain those from the far flung areas. However, we try to do our best and inoculate more than a hundred in a day,” Mayor Mercado added.
There is also a small team for house-to-house vaccination drive for senior citizens who can no longer walk, or those bedridden and unable to go to the vaccination site.
On the record released by Mayor Mercado, there are 47,615 targeted persons to get vaccinated out of 93,000 population in Maasin City. As of this writing, there are only 8,261 fully vaccinated persons, and 6,100 persons who had their first dose.
(Rhonechelle Cabodbod) (Photo source: LGU Maasin City)