Duterte approves proposal to start vaccinating essential workers, indigents

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the proposal to expand the vaccination program to those under the A4 and A5 priority group, which is composed of essential workers and the indigent population, National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF) deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon announced Tuesday.

“Inanunsiyo na po ng ating vaccine czar at inaprubahan na ng ating Pangulo ang expansion [ng vaccination] natin sa economic frontliners at national government frontliners,” he said in a Palace briefing.

(The vaccine czar announced earlier and the President has approved the expansion of vaccination to economic frontliners and national government frontliners.)

This, he said, includes uniformed personnel such as the military and police.

For his part, NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the government will start inoculating the said priority groups “after May” once vaccine supply in the country becomes “steady.”

“Ang ating Gabinete, inaprubahan ang ating rekomendasyon na simulan na ang pagbabakuna ng ating mga kababayan na nasa A4 at A5 na kategorya pagkatapos ng buwan ng Mayo o kapag nagkaroon na tayo ng steady na supply,” he said in the same briefing.

(Our Cabinet has approved our recommendation to start the vaccination in the A4 and A5 groups after the month of May or when we see a steady supply of vaccines.)

He said they are still studying the timing since they are still doing an inventory of currently available vaccines as well as those that have yet to arrive in the country.

JE