MANILA, Philippines — The "light at the end of the tunnel" is in sight because of the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday, as the government kicked off the inoculation of the country's more than 12-million workers in essential sectors.
In a pre-recorded video message during the vaccination roll-out for economic frontliners, Duterte said the arrival of the pandemic shots is the result of the national government’s "aggressive efforts" to secure enough doses from different manufacturers.
He also described the start of the vaccination of workers in essential sectors or the A4 group as "a major milestone in our battle against COVID-19."
"We can now see the light at the end of the tunnel as the vaccine shipments have arrived, have started to arrive in (bulk)," Duterte said.
"With the start of our mass vaccination, the A4 priority category workers in both public and private sector will have an added layer of protection against the disease," he added.
While the government's vaccination program is underway, Duterte reminded the public to continue observing minimum health standards to prevent the further spread of the virus.
"Let us keep in mind that vaccination is the only way forward for us to overcome this pandemic. But we must also remember that getting vaccinated is not the only solution," the president said.
"We must continue to observe minimum public health standards by wearing a mask, washing our hands, and observing social distancing," he added.
The A4 group is composed of workers in the public, private, and informal sectors, including the self-employed and those working in private residences.
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Some 50 workers belonging to various sectors were vaccinated at the SM Mall of Asia on Monday, marking the beginning of the inoculation of workers in the formal and informal sectors.
The workers who were vaccinated during Monday's event are business process outsourcing employees, travel guides, tricycle drivers, household staff, mall personnel, representatives from the entertainment sector, drivers, teachers, government workers, fast food crew workers, riders and media workers.
'Start of recovery'
"This occasion marks the start of the recovery of the Philippines because we will be vaccinating our A4 workforce. Because of this, we can say that the vaccination of the A4 is a game changer against COVID-19," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
The government expects the arrival of about 10 million doses of COVID-19 jabs this month, including 5.5 million doses of shots from Chinese from Sinovac.
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. said some 4.2 million doses of vaccines from the COVAX facility are also expected to be delivered by the end of the month. As much as 40 million doses of pandemic jabs are scheduled to arrive by August.
Officials said the government is studying what benefits and privileges can be extended to fully vaccinated persons. Galvez noted that in Israel, some mobility restrictions have been eased for fully vaccinated individuals. He said some local governments are also providing aid and are organizing raffles to convince people to avail of the COVID-19 jabs.
"In order to motivate our seniors and also our people with comorbidities, we need to provide some leeway," the vaccine czar said.
"We are considering na bigyan ng some sort of opening of restrictions to those people that will be vaccinated especially our quarantine protocols when they return from abroad," he added.
Galvez said some experts from Israel would be coming on June 20 to discuss ways to implement the benefits for people who got inoculated against COVID-19.
Trade Secretary Ramono Lopez said some establishments are offering freebies and discounts to persons who got vaccinated.
"But the real benefit of vaccination is you won't die (of COVID-19). That is the safest and the best benefit," Lopez said.