Vaccination for COVID-19 has entered a new stage with the inoculation of the many registered patients who are under the category of A4 (to be done in two phases). To be clear, the Department of Health (DOH) describes A4 as the category pertaining to frontline personnel in essential sectors, including uniformed personnel.
For starters, watch the GMA Network news video below…
To put things in perspective even more, posted below are selected excerpts from the Philippine News Agency’s (PNA) article. Some parts in boldface…
Excerpt 1
Some 50 workers from various sectors received their first dose of vaccine against the dreaded Covid-19 as the government kicked off the mass vaccination of the economic front-liners under the A4 priority group at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City on Monday.
Christopher Molo, a 28-year-old Angkas rider, said getting vaccinated would lessen his fear to get infected with the disease and have serious illness conditions due to the virus.
He said he decided to get vaccinated to also protect his family against the risk of transmission.
“May takot at kaba dahil bukod sa panganib ng kalsada, may takot na rin sa virus kasi may posibilidad kami na mahawa rin na mas nakakatakot (There is fear and nervousness because apart from the danger of the road, there is also fear that we might get infected with the virus — that is more worrisome),” Molo said during the symbolic vaccination attended by officials from public and private sectors.
Molo said he always keeps the health protocols in mind during his work hours. But he is more feeling safe now that he is vaccinated.
Excerpt 2
TV host Iya Villania-Arellano said she decided to get vaccinated to become safe from the risks of getting infected.
“I wanna feel safe and I wanna contribute to taking that one step towards that achieving of herd immunity. That’s why we decide to get vaccinated. I wanna be one with everyone else in being able to give way the life that we had,” Iya said.
Iya and her husband Drew Arellano were both vaccinated with Sinovac vaccines, encouraging more Filipinos to avail themselves of the Covid-19 jabs.
“Don’t be choosy. Get what is available, because it is our way of being able to get back to our lives, and be able to enjoy what we used to be able to enjoy without the mask, without the face shield. Enjoy fresh air, enjoy breathing properly, and enjoy the outside world with our families, with our loved ones. So guys, come on, let’s get vaccinated,” she said.
Maurel Magyani, a service crew for eight years with Jollibee, said getting vaccinated will save her child from the danger brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I feel safe kasi nabakunahan na ako (because I already got vaccinated),” she said.
Excerpt 3
The Philippine government has decided to inoculate essential workers belonging to the A4 priority groups in areas where there is a high-risk exposure to Covid-19 infection.
The initial vaccination rollout for the A4 priority group is being carried out in the areas of Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao, which are collectively called the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus 8.
The first phase of the inoculation covers employees in private companies who are working outside their homes; employees in government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) and local government units (LGUs); and informal sector workers and those self-employed who work outside their homes, and those working in private households.
In his taped message for the event, President Rodrigo Duterte said the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines “in bulk” and the vaccination of essential workers boost the government’s efforts to beat the pandemic.
“We can now see the light at the end of the tunnel as the vaccine shipments have arrived, have started to arrive in bulk. This development is the result of our national government’s aggressive efforts to secure sufficient doses from the different manufacturers,” Duterte said.
Duterte also reminded the public to continue to adhere to the minimum public health standards.
That’s quite a load of information above. While A4 patients are being vaccinated, it does NOT mean that vaccination for patients of A1, A2 and A3 will stop. In fact, vaccination sites and their organizers are still waiting for category A1, A2 and A3 patients to come to them (note: register first) and those who missed out on their 2nd dose will still be served. Going back to the Philippine News Agency report, Senator Bong Go stated: “We should exert all efforts to continuously prioritize A1, A2, and A3 priority groups by establishing special lanes or special vaccination centers for them.”
Going back to the above excerpts, A4 is further defined as A4 workers in NCR+8 (Phase 1) and A4 workers outside NCR+8 (Phase 2). Below is an image sourced from another Philippine News Agency article.
Economic significance of category A4
In another Philippines News Agency article, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez stated that vaccinating patients under category A4 is key to the nation’s economic recovery. A4 covers a wide number of employees under different sectors, most notably the private sectors who work outside their homes. Check out the excerpt below…
During the ceremonial vaccination for A4 group in Pasay City Monday, Lopez thanked the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) for expanding the definition of A4 priority group to include “almost all” workers.
“We are really giving support to the backbone of our economy, our workers. So this is really a shot in the arm to the economic front-liners, a shot in the arm to our economy. And this is really what we need as we are trying to continuously reopen,” Lopez said.
Following the vaccination of healthcare workers, senior citizens, and those with comorbidities, economic front-liners can now get the jab against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The expanded list in the fourth priority group has included self-employed individuals, house helpers, and business process outsourcing workers, among others, who work outside their homes.
Lopez added that as vaccines provide protection and lower the risk of getting severe Covid-19 cases and death, the inoculation for the A4 group will boost confidence to reopen the economy.
“And with that, we will confidently reopen towards that path, and that’s the path towards recovery. And now we’re seeing such recovery, we will see more and better signs of that recovery moving forward,” the DTI chief said.
Once a whole lot of A4 patients get vaccinated, it will be great for the businesses who have been struggling hard to keep operating. It will also be great not only for the fortunate employees (still working daily) but also for the unemployed (including those who are afraid of daily travel, fearing possible COVID-19 infection). Of course, those who will got vaccinated are those who successfully registered in their respective cities or local communities. There are still a lot of people out there who have not registered for one reason or another.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: Does the start of vaccination of A4 patients sound encouraging to you personally? Have you registered already? Have you been unemployed for over three months now?
In your city, has the mayor or other city government officials been posing a lot for pictures while witnessing the local vaccination processes?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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