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CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said he would not be able to avail of the vaccines even if public officials would be allowed to be inoculated.
Labella said that because he was already 70 years old, he might not be qualified for the vaccine.
Instead, this vaccine must be given to health workers and frontliners or even to indigents who are qualified to get it.
The mayor said that he would want to be inoculated to show he trusted the vaccines the country had purchased and would encourage health workers to take it, but he understood the guidelines of the Department of Health (DOH) for the age limitations.
“Above 59 years old naman ko. Dili pa pwede mavaccinan, but I encourage the health workers nga mo-avail sila kay this would really help them,” said Labella.
(I am above 59 years old. I am not qualified to have the vaccine, but I encourage the health workers to avail of this because this would really help them.)
As of now, the public officials are discouraged to be vaccinated with the nationally allocated vaccines sent to the local government units (LGUs) as these are dedicated only for health workers.
Read: Cebu City has over 100 vaccinators ready for mass vaccination
With this in mind, Labella said he hoped that health workers would avail of the now available vaccine, but should they refuse, the mayor said they could wait for the city’s own procurement.
The city is set to purchase P400 million worth of AstraZeneca vaccines, which the City Council recently approved of.
“We cannot force anyone to take the vaccine. If they don’t want the vaccine now, they can always wait. But I suggest they take the vaccine that is available now,” said the mayor.
Read: Vaccines key to lowering COVID-19 cases in Cebu City —EOC
Even if he could not be inoculated himself, the mayor said that the frontliners under the city’s employment such as the City Health and the Emergency Operations Center personnel would be inoculated.
Labella said he was banking on the vaccine as the long term solution to the city’s COVID-19 situation. /dbs
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