(REUTERS)
MANILA, Philippines — Ninety five percent of tourism industry workers in Metro Manila have received the COVID-19 vaccine, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced on Monday.
“The DOT hails this important milestone in vaccinating our tourism stakeholders. The inoculation of our tourism frontliners is a big step towards the recovery of the industry,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in a statement.
A total of 27,708 out of 29,066 tourism frontliners have received additional protection against COVID-19 as of August 20.
Of those vaccinated, 19,350 tourism workers were listed under the A1 priority group while 8,358 workers were under the A4 priority group.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat (INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)
Both A1 and A4 priority groups are employed in quarantine or isolation facilities, multiple use hotels, and staycation hotels that are DOT-accredited.
“We shall continue our close collaboration with the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19, local government units and relevant public and private agencies in securing vaccine doses to expedite the inoculation of more tourism workers, especially those in destinations that rely heavily on tourism,” she said.
The tourism chief thanked government agencies and authorities for their support in the vaccination rollout for tourism frontliners.
She also noted the contribution of industry associations for the turnout initiative.
“This near-100% inoculation took a whole-of-government approach and could not have been accomplished without our national and local government leaders, as well as our partners from the private sector who supported the program in the spirit of Bayanihan,” Puyat said.
Meantime, 61 percent or 2,778 out of 4,565 workers in restaurants accredited by the DOT in 13 cities in the capital region have likewise received their COVID-19 shot.
The DOT mentioned that immunization refusal and brand preference, among others, are the hurdles in achieving 100-percent inoculation among tourism industry workers.
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