One highly urbanized city (HUC) and three provinces in Western Visayas have so far started vaccinating persons with comorbidities against COVID-19.
According to Dr. Bea Camille Fillaro-Natalaray, Medical Officer IV of the Department of Health 6 (DOH) 6, these areas are Iloilo City and provinces of Antique, Iloilo and Negros Occidental.
As of May 1, at least 667 persons with comorbidities under A3 priority group from the said areas have been administered with Sinovac vaccine and only one with AstraZeneca vaccine.
These comprise 1.68 percent of the 39,718 persons with comorbidities masterlisted under A3 priority group.
Meanwhile, under Department Memorandum No. 2021-0175, the DOH enumerated examples of comorbidities that are included in priority COVID-19 vaccination list.
These are:
- Chronic respiratory disease and infection such as asthma and respiratory allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung diseases, cystic fibrosis, or pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, histoplasmosis, bronchiectasis
- Cardiovascular disease such as hypertension coronary heart diseases, cardiomyopathies, peripheral artery disease, aortic diseases, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease;
- Chronic kidney disease;
- Cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke and transient ischemic attack;
- Cancer of malignancy;
- Diabetes mellitus type 1 and 2;
- Obesity;
- Neurologic diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, epilepsy and seizures, Bell’s palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, or acute spinal cord injury;
- Chronic liver disease such as hepatitis cirrhosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease;
- Immunodeficiency states such as genetic immunodeficiencies, secondary or acquired immunodeficiencies (i.e. prolonged use of corticosteroids), HIV infection, solid organ or blood transplant patients; and
- Other diseases such as sickle cell disease, thalassemia, or down syndrome.
Meanwhile, other disease conditions not included in the list but belong to the general category of conditions are also eligible under the A3 priority group, DOH said./WDJ