Malapitan, 65, gets AstraZeneca jab ahead of other Metro mayors

BY JOSEPH PEDRAJAS

For the record, Caloocan City Mayor Oca Malapitan was the first National Capital Region (NCR) executive to get vaccinated against coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

This he confirmed after he availed of the vaccination program for senior citizens that started on Monday last week or six days before Metro mayor were given green light to get their own vaccine shot.

“Noong inopen ang senior citizens, sinamantalahan [sic] ko na po. AstraZeneca,” Malapitan said in Teleradyo interview when asked if was already vaccinated.

Malapitan got the approval from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to get the jab as he is a senior citizen who falls under A-2 category or second under the priority list for vaccination.

Malapitan, who is turning 66 this June, said he feels “okay” now, although he is still taking precautions as despite his age, it is “inevitable” for him not to go around the city and work on the ground to “supervise.”

On Sunday, mayors and governors in areas high-risk for COVID-19 were allowed to be vaccinated ahead of their scheduled priority.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso was the first in the NCR+ bubble (composed of the National Capital Region and Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite provinces) to publicly get inoculated.