Duque supports proposal to require booster cards in enclosed establishments

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III (INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Friday he supports “in principle” the proposal of presidential adviser on entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion to require booster cards in enclosed establishments.

In a text message to INQUIRER.net, Duque said Concepcion’s proposal will be deliberated upon by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) on Tuesday.

“I personally support it in principle but must wait for the official take on this of the IATF collective,” he added.

Concepcion earlier urged the government to require COVID-19 booster cards from people who will enter enclosed establishments starting June to increase the uptake for booster shots.

“We do not implement it right away. I understand it will take time for them to get the booster, but considering that vaccines are now more accessible, people are free to move around, and we have adequate supply, I think two and a half months, or until June, would be enough time to take the boosters,” he said in a statement in March.

“We need this push. Right now there is no danger. The danger is in the next semester when the waning immunity might be felt already. And this is not counting the possibility that new variants might emerge,” the government adviser added.

JPV