Mayor Joseph Evangelista has issued an order listing vendors and public utility trike drivers as among the sectors to be prioritized for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination program.

Evangelista, who chairs the city’s Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), released an executive order Tuesday afternoon setting the guidelines and procedures for the vaccination program involving some 45,901 residents.

The order said that aside from frontline health workers, government workers, and senior citizens, the city government will also prioritize the vendors, public utility tricycle, and “habal-habal” (motorcycle taxi) drivers to get the vaccine.

“They also are considered as front-liners that offer essential services to the public mostly vulnerable sectors, risking their lives for the convenience of others,” Evangelista said.

Also included in the priority list are public school teachers and law enforcers, he added.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod approved Tuesday a resolution declaring the entire city under the state of calamity, paving way for the release of the local risk reduction management fund for the purchase of the vaccines.

Part of the fund amounting to PHP28 million will be allocated for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines in the first half of 2021.

The procurement, Evangelista said, would be done through a tripartite agreement involving the national government, vaccine supplier, and the local government unit, he added.

“Any second that we delay the purchase of the vaccines is endangering the lives of our people. That we cannot afford,” the mayor said, adding that the local government will choose vaccines with 70 percent efficacy. (PNA)