People flooded and crowded on the first day of single-dose vaccination using Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine Janssen at 2 malls in this city this Tuesday.
Due to the crowd, there is no more social distancing the queue outside the malls.
Many senior citizens can also be seen lining up to be vaccinated.
This is after Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez announced that whoever wants to get vaccinated only needs to bring a senior citizen.
The number of senior citizens in Tacloban getting vaccinated is still low.
In a statement, Romualdez clarified that non -senior citizens would not be vaccinated.
But many still go, even those who are not senior citizens. They hope to be vaccinated as well.
According to Chie Maglonzo, who shared photos taken outside a mall, she noticed that when a senior citizen arrives unaccompanied, non-senior citizens immediately approach them to join the priority lane.
With the crowd, most were already 7 hours in line but still outside the malls.
Tacloban City Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin said his office has also received feedback and suggestions from netizens regarding the vaccination at the said malls on his Facebook account.
COVID-19 vaccination in Tacloban City using Janssen begins
“The CDRRMO/CHO (City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office/City Health Office) should come up with a better system for our COVID-19 vaccination activities, especially for our senior citizens & PWDs, to prevent overcrowding and to wait long hours to have themselves vaccinated,” he said.
“It puts everyone at risk.”
The Tacloban City local government targets to vaccinate 5,000 this Tuesday and also 5,000 on Wednesday.
Only a single dose is needed for J&J vaccines, which are more than 66 percent effective against moderate COVID-19 and 77 to 85 percent effective against severe or chronic COVID-19.
Janssen doses passed through the COVAX facility will prioritize those in the country’s top three priority groups, including seniors and those with comorbidity or illness.
All regions in the country will receive 100,000 doses of Janssen each. At the same time, there will be additional allocations for Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol Region, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.