The Quezon City government will have dedicated vaccination sites for the A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (adults with comorbidities) priority groups to encourage them to get protection against Covid-19.

Mayor Joy Belmonte, speaking during the Laging Handa public briefing aired over state-owned PTV4 on Tuesday, said it is one way of assuring the elderly and those with comorbidities that they will still be accommodated even when the A4 (economic front-liners and uniformed personnel) inoculation begins.

“Ang planong gawin ng lungsod Quezon ay magde-dedicate ng mga (QC is planning to dedicate) vaccine sites, specific and exclusive only to A2s and A3s kahit pa man binuksan na natin ang mga nasa A4 (even after we have opened the vaccination for the A4s),” she said.

Belmonte explained that data from the city’s Task Force Vax to Normal showed only one-third of the city’s senior citizens have received their Covid-19 vaccines.

“First, based on our data, only one-third of our A2s have been vaccinated so far and we have 300,000 A2s, so about 100,000 have been vaccinated because that is the number of our seniors in QC,” Belmonte said.

To encourage more participation, Belmonte said they are already discussing plans to give incentives and prizes to villages with the most vaccinees or those that have vaccinated all residents under the A2 and A3 groups.

“Because for me when you protect the most vulnerable, that is already half the pot,” Belmonte said.

She is also thankful that as with the rest of the National Capital Region, QC now has a downward trend in the number of Covid-19 cases.

From a high of 1,100 per day, the city is down to an average of about 200 while the positivity rate is at less than 10 percent.

It has 2,802 active cases as of June 6, just 2.8 percent of the total confirmed 97,585 infections.

The number of contact tracers also increased to 3,500 while testing capacity has gone up to about 4,000 per day. (PNA)