Cebu City dad’s appeal: Make J&J vaccines available for all

Liga ng mga Barangays President and ex-officio Councilor Franklyn Ong. CDN Digital photo | Delta Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Johnsons & Johnsons (J&J) should not only be for senior citizens but for all individuals who are willing to get vaccinated.

This was the appeal of Cebu City Councilor Franklyn Ong, the president of the Liga ng mga Barangay (LNB) and Kasambagan village chief, to Acting Mayor Michael Rama.

The councilor said that many individuals were waiting to get vaccinated in the city, over 100,000 individuals, in fact, but they could not get vaccinated because the vaccines were allotted only to a specific group.

“There are more than 100,000 on the waiting list, maybe we can appeal to them (National Task Force) to reconsider that we open this J&J to all those who are already registered so we can fast track vaccination,” said Ong.

Acting Mayor Rama said that there was a reason why J&J was only allotted to senior citizens and that was because it would be more convenient for this age group to get their vaccinations at one dose only.

This will reduce their exposure from going out twice without complete vaccination and thereby, would encourage more senior citizens to get vaccinated.

For Ong, time is of the essence, and it is more important to get as many vaccinated individuals as possible.

“Kahibalo ug nakasabot ta nga prayoridad ang atong pinalanggang senior citizens sa maong brand sa bakuna. Apan, daghan ang nagpaabot sa waiting list nga gusto nang mabakunahan,” he said.

(We know and we understand that our beloved senior citizens are given priority for this brand of vaccine. But, many, who want to be vaccinated, are waiting in our waiting list.)

“Importante nga wala ta’y masayang nga oras sa atong pagpabakuna hilabi na nga nagsaka na sab ang kaso sa Covid-19. Nagtuo ko nga kon unsa ang available nga bakuna, i-abli unta kini og hatag sa tanang gusto nang mabakunahan,” said the councilor.

(It is important that no time will be wasted in our vaccination drive especially since our COVID-19 cases are rising. I believe, that whatever available vaccine, we make them available to those who want to be vaccinated.)

For Ong, the urgency of vaccinating individuals is apparent, and exclusive allocation may be counterproductive to the vaccination program in the long run.

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