COVID-19 Category in Philippines: What Does A1, A2, A3 Mean?

With the government slowly rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine, it’s important for people to know if they can get vaccinated or not. One way of going about it is knowing your COVID-19 category in Philippines.

But these categories can get confusing, so we made a handy guide to help you out!

COVID-19 Category in Philippines: Groups

At the moment, there are only limited supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine available. This means that the government will need to prioritize certain groups over others in order to better protect the population.

To do this, different COVID-19 category in the Philippines have been created. Here is a breakdown of each category¹:

Priority Eligible A

• A1 – Frontline health workers
• A2 – Senior citizens
• A3 – Persons with comorbidities
• A4 – Other front-liners
• A5 – Indigent population

Priority Eligible B

• B1 – Teachers and social workers
• B2 – Government workers
• B3 – Other essential workers
• B4 – Socio-demographic groups at significantly higher risk
• B5 – OFWs
• B6 – Other workers not belonging to the above groups

Priority Eligible C

C – The rest of the population who do not belong to the above groups.

The priority for the vaccine will be those under the A category, the B category, and last is the C category. Depending on your city, it would be best to ask your barangay or the local government unit or LGU for more information.

By following these categories, those who have a high risk of complications, as well as infection, can be vaccinated first. This helps to stop not only the spread of the virus, but also hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19².

Know Your COVID-19 Category in Philippines

You need to know your COVID-19 category so that you can be given the vaccine. This is because, in some cities, residents who want to be vaccinated need to register before the LGU schedules them for vaccination.

During registration, you will be asked some basic information as well as your category. This is why you need to know which category you fall into so that you can be given scheduled vaccination as soon as your category is eligible³.

If you need more information, feel free to get in touch with your LGU for further information. They should be able to answer all the questions you have regarding the vaccine.

Get Vaccinated As Soon As You Can

Once you have been registered and scheduled for the vaccine (after determining your COVID-19 category in Philippines), it is important for you to show up on the day of your vaccination. The number of vaccines available are still extremely low, so you need to take advantage of any chance you get to be vaccinated.

If you’re worried about the effectiveness of some vaccines, it is important to remember that all of the available vaccines are very effective against severe COVID-19. This means that if you get vaccinated, the chances of you getting hospitalized or dying from COVID-19 is extremely low⁴.

While it’s possible that you might still be infected, you’ll most likely only experience mild symptoms. This is why it’s so important to get vaccinated as soon as possible, with whatever vaccine is available.

Side Effects Are Normal For All COVID-19 Vaccines

Lastly, it’s possible that you might experience some side effects after you get vaccinated. These can include chills, fever, soreness in the injection site, and fatigue.

These side effects are normal, and shouldn’t be cause for concern. If you’re having trouble dealing with these side effects, you can take over-the-counter medication to help manage the side effects better⁵.

Even after you get vaccinated, it’s important to still practice safety protocol when it comes to COVID-19. This includes social distancing, wearing masks, frequent hand washing, and avoiding crowded spaces as much as possible.

This helps ensure that the spread of the virus can be controlled.

Learn more about the Coronavirus here.