Covid-19 Vaccination Of A3 Priority Group

April 14, 2021

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The vaccination drive against COVID-19 has finally begun and the government is now gradually moving up the priority list of people to be inoculated. The local government units in Metro Manila have already scheduled simultaneous vaccinations of the A1, A2, and A3 sectors.

A1 are medical frontliners, A2 are senior citizens, and A3 are persons with comorbidities.

While not yet done inoculating all the A2 and A3, most of the LGUs in Metro Manila have already expanded their vaccination to include the A3 group.

The Department of Health (DOH) has classified A3 as adults between the ages of 18 and 59 with any controlled comorbidities will be part of Priority Group A3 in the vaccination plan.

Are you part of this demographic and should you register for this phase of the mass vaccination?

Here is a quick breakdown of the guidelines from the DOH.

Do you fall in the A3 category?

According to the DOH, Priority Group A3 are people who have comorbidities that are classified as the top causes of COVID-19 national morbidity and mortality.

What is a comorbidity?

The presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient.

If you’re an adult with two or more of the following medical conditions, you are encouraged to register for the Priority Group A3 and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Chronic respiratory disease
Hypertension
Cardiovascular disease
Chronic kidney disease
Cerebrovascular disease
Malignancy
Diabetes
Obesity
Chronic liver disease
Neurologic disease
Immunodeficiency state.

Requirements to be registered for this priority group

If you have two or more conditions mentioned above, you must secure one of the following based on your condition.

Eligible adults

Proof of comorbidity in the form of either a medical certificate from an attending physician, prescription for medicines, hospital records such as the discharge summary and medical abstract, or surgical records and pathology reports, that have been issued within the past 18 months.

People with autoimmune disease, HIV, cancer, or malignancy, organ transplant, steroid treatment, poor prognosis, or bed-ridden

A physical or electronic medical clearance from a specialist or attending physician.

The DOH allowed home-based vaccination for these types of vaccine candidates. For this process, the LGU will acquire medical clearance for the bed-ridden patients a day before vaccination, and the on-site vaccination team will be scheduled to do the inoculation in the vaccine candidates’ homes.

This process also applies to institutions such as nursing homes or infirmaries.

On the other hand, LGUs were instructed to conduct the inoculation of HIV patients through their treatment hubs to protect their confidentiality, and for tuberculosis patients through the TB-Directly Observed Treatment Strategy (TB-DOTS) centers.

Patients with comorbidities that are not on DOH’s list

No medical clearance needed but still have to undergo screening on vaccination day at the site for active disease.

Medical clearance can also be secured through teleconsultation, at designated facilities, hubs, rural health units, or other primary care centers designated by the LGU.

How to register?

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said that local government units have simplified their pre-registration process for those with comorbidities to help fast-track the rollout for them. Each LGU in Metro Manila has established its own online pre-registration portal to facilitate the registration.

Below are the links to the following registration portals of each respective LGUs in Greater Metro Manila.