Some local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila have expanded their COVID-19 immunization drive to cover indigent Filipinos, or those who belong to the Philippine government’s A5 vaccine priority group.

San Juan was among the first city governments to include indigent individuals in their vaccination program, inoculating 435 members of that sector on Tuesday, June 15 with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

“Ang ating proseso ay napakasimple lang. Magpapakita lang ng valid government ID, at certificate of indigency na madaling kunin sa barangay,” San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora said in an interview with reporters on Tuesday.

(Our process is very simple. Just show a valid government ID and indigency certificate that you can get easily at the barangay office.)

Caloocan also kicked off the vaccinations of A5 individuals on Wednesday, June 16. 

Six vaccination sites across the city accommodated members of the sector that day.

In Manila, the LGU deployed on Wednesday at least 7,700 vaccine shots to sites that catered primarily to indigent Filipinos.

In all cities, the vaccination of A5 individuals is simultaneous with the inoculation of sectors higher on the priority list, namely health workers (A1), senior citizens (A2), persons with comorbidities (A3), and economic frontline workers (A4). 

The Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday, June 14, that LGUs can inoculate the indigent sector already as long as they have enough vaccine supply.

Under the agency’s guidelines, LGUs must get the list of indigent residents from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in their localities. 

It said that for individuals who are not part of the DSWD’s list, LGUs can undertake “other verification mechanisms” for identification. — Rappler.com