MMDA: 120 entertainment industry workers so far get COVID-19 vaccine

MANILA, Philippines — Around 120 workers from the entertainment industry have so far received COVID-19 vaccines as part of the government’s rollout to the A4 priority group, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Monday.

MMDA chairman Benhur Abalos said most of the workers are from “behind-the-camera” including camera men, screenwriters, and those in charge of fixing up taping sets like lights.

He explained that some of the workers were already included under A1, A2 and A3 categories, the first three priority groups of the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.

“Kawawa talaga ang industriya, halos isa’t kalahating taon sarado ang sinehan, pati takilyera ng sinehan, tinutulungan natin para makabangon sila,” the chairman said.

(The situation of the industry is pitiful. It’s been one and a half years since cinemas have closed. We are helping them to get back up.)

MMDA, which organizes the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), earlier rolled out its COVID-19 vaccination program for movie industry workers.

Abalos said that around 300,000 people from the film industry which include producers, cinemas, theater employees, and ticket sellers are directly affected by the pandemic.

Sinovac vaccines allocated for MMDA workers under the A4 category are also used for citizens working in the entertainment industry, Abalos said.

The vaccination program is in partnership with the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (MOWELFUND).

As of June 13, the country has administered 6,870,054 vaccines against COVID-19 with 1,855,472 fully vaccinated individuals. Faith Yuen Wei Ragasa, Inquirer trainee

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