Inclusion of journalists in jab priority list urged

Journalists should be added to the target group of essential workers prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination considering the role they play in disseminating important information on the pandemic, the chair of the Senate labor committee said on Tuesday. Sen. Joel Villanueva proposed the inclusion of reporters and media workers in the government’s list of priority recipients of the COVID-19 jabs, citing their indispensable work of providing “timely and truthful information” during the global health crisis. “Press freedom and timely access to truthful information are a must in times of pandemic,” he said. Villanueva said the media sector should be part of the A4 cluster, which consists of essential workers in government, food retailers, market vendors and hotel staff, among others.

—DJ Yap