House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco urged the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to prioritize urban centers with high concentration of 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) cases for the vaccine rollout.
"As we await large supplies of vaccines to come in, we urge the IATF to prioritize NCR Plus and other urban centers in our vaccine rollout so we can quell the surge in new infections in those areas," Velasco said.
"But first and foremost, let us vaccinate all 1.7 million health care workers all over the country to make sure they are protected against COVID-19," he added,
The NCR Plus area includes the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.
Aside from the NCR Plus area, Velasco believes that Mega Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro and other regional centers across the Philippines should receive priority vaccine allocation.
He said that best defense against the 'superspreader variants' would be to inundate these areas with COVID-19 vaccines.
The congressman also said that it would be prudent at this point to concentrate inoculation efforts toward areas where the health systems are vulnerable.
"Our efforts should be strategic as we wait for the time until our vaccine supplies become stable," Velasco said.
