SAN FERNANDO, La Union — The City Government of Candon in Ilocos Sur ordered the investigation of an employee of the City Health Office (CHO), after a video of a local resident being vaccinated in his own vehicle, drew flak.

The video, which was supposedly taken down, shows a man apparently receiving his inoculation in his private vehicle, apparently bypassing triage and documentation protocols.

Mayor Ericson Singson, in his statement, said the “city government does not condone these types of incidents and is not, in any way, taking the matter lightly”.

Singson added he ordered the CHO to coordinate with individual and his current employer in matter of investigation.

The concerned CHO employee, who administered the shot, is under preventive suspension while waiting for the result of the investigation.

Singson said the incident should serve as a reminder to everyone that any irregularity in the vaccination roll out program will not be tolerated.

In his defense, inoculated individual said he was under the A3 priority group (persons with comorbidities) because of his hypertension.

He was initially scheduled to be vaccinated last Thursday in the city’s Civic Center, but before the vaccination day he, allegedly, was directly exposed to a person who tested positive and is under quarantine.

“Tinawagan ko po yung kaibigan ng mom ko regarding my case kaya po pinuntahan ako sa mismong car ko sa side mismo ng civic para maiwasan po ang posibleng pagkahawa”, he wrote.

This, however, sparked more anger from netizens, saying he should have gone under quarantine upon learning he was a direct contact of an individual who turned positive.

Meanwhile, 22 towns and cities in Ilocos Sur have been deemed high-risk by the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU).

These include the towns of Bantay, Cabugao, Caoayan, Cervantes, Galimuyod, Lidlidda, Magsingal, Nagbukel, Narvacan, Salcedo, San Emilio, San Ildefonso, San Vicente, Sta. Catalina, Sta. Cruz, Sta. Lucia, Santiago, Sto. Domingo, Sugpon, Tagudin, and the cities of Candon and Vigan.

With this, the Regional COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center (RVOC) issued an Advisory which gives the green light to the listed areas to the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines for the A4 Priority Group, or Workers in Essential Sector, without disregarding priority groups A1 to A3.