Gov’t urged to expedite vaccination of Filipinos leaving for work abroad
MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker on Thursday urged the government's pandemic task force to expedite the vaccination of outbound Filipino workers, especially those who are scheduled for deployment within the year.
Filipinos have been going abroad for better work opportunities for decades and remittances continue to contribute to the Philippine economy despite displacement of thousands because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Let's vaccinate them while they are here in the Philippines so that they can return to work immediately," Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said in a statement written in Filipino.
"Many of them work on ships or in hotels abroad. Many of these businesses are returning gradually. But we need to make sure that before the [overseas Filipino workers] leave the country, they are all vaccinated."
Citing information from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Gatchalian said the number of Filipino seafarers deployed each month is returning gradually to pre-pandemic levels.
POEA said some 30,000 seafarers were deployed in May, double the 15,000 who were deployed in January. Deployments in May were also only 10,000 less than the 40,000 seafarers dispatched overseas monthly prior to the pandemic.
The task force in end-May recategorized outbound OFWs into the top vaccination priority group.
Gatchalian, who is vice-chairman of the Senate economic affairs panel, noted that, in addition to the displaced OFWs' personal economic recovery, the recovery of remittances could also boost the appreciation of the country’s currency.
He also urged the POEA and the labor department to ensure that the OFWs be given the vaccines that are preferred by their host countries to avoid any delays in deployment.
READ: Duterte says seafarers can be given western-made vaccine
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier this week said some 25 million vaccines are expected to arrive this month, followed by another 29.5 million shots in October.
As of August 31, some 13.96 million Filipinos, or 12.8% of the population, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The government is looking to fully inoculate 50 to 60 million people before the year ends.
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