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Vaccinate health workers before loosening restrictions, OCTA urges gov’t


The government must first focus on vaccinating health workers in Metro Manila before loosening restrictions against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an OCTA Research fellow said Tuesday.

“The key thing is we need to get the vaccination program deployed, especially for frontline health workers, and only when all of them are vaccinated, given [a] second dose, can we consider loosening in a gradual, calibrated manner,” Professor Ranjit Rye told GMA News Online.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Monday recommended a shift to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the least stringent category, in a bid to revive the economy to combat rising hunger amid the pandemic. 

Citing the holiday-related surge in infections that turned out to be weaker than expected, NEDA said the country is ready for a loosening of restrictions

Rye, however, said “a surge is always on the horizon.”

“We feel that what NEDA is suggesting is short of letting our guard down. It’s overestimating our achievements and underestimating the virus. It’s the bad thing to do, especially at this juncture when we’re starting our vaccination program,” he said.

The country’s vaccination program was expected to begin with the rollout of 117,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses in mid-February but the delivery of the vaccines was delayed by concerns on indemnification. 

Conditions for opening up

Rye said there must be at least two weeks of decline in new cases, a positivity rate lower than 5%, and a hospital occupancy rate of less than 50% before any easing of restrictions is considered.

He also suggested expanding the biosurveillance capabilities of both the national and local governments, especially with the detection of the more transmissible United Kingdom coronavirus variant in the country. 

“If variants are coming in and out while we are on the cusp of vaccination, it would be very hard to manage the situation. We need to expand the capacity for biosurveillance. After which, of course, we do accelerate the procurement and deployment of vaccines,” he said.

“Prematurely opening up the National Capital Region against the backdrop of uncertainty with the UK variant and the pending inception of our vaccination program… It’s not just risky but also contrary to sensible epidemic management,” he added.

Rye also urged the government to consider involving Metro Manila mayors and health workers in discussions on quarantine classifications, helping pass Bayanihan Law 3, and giving higher cash aid to the poorest families.

“We’re not against the idea of opening up but we have to achieve the conditions for opening up,” he said.

The Philippines has tallied 550,860 infections with 511,755 recoveries and 11,517 deaths as of Monday afternoon. 

The general community quarantine prevailing over Metro Manila and several other areas will expire at the end of the month.—LDF, GMA News

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