Who are part of the A4 priority group for COVID-19 vaccination?

The government’s inter-agency COVID-19 task force has approved the list of workers included in the fourth priority group for vaccination, an official from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Monday.

At a health department briefing, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the following essential workers are part of the A4 sector, which is next in line after health workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities:

•     A4.1 - Commuter transport (land, air, and sea), including logistics
•     A4.2 - Frontline government workers in justice, security, transport and social protection sectors
•     A4.3 - Public and private wet and dry market vendors; frontline workers in grocery, supermarkets; delivery services
•     A4.4 - Workers in manufacturing for food, beverage, medical and pharmaceutical products
•     A4.5 - Frontline workers in food retail, including food service delivery
•     A4.6 - Frontline government workers
•     A4.7 - Frontline workers in Financial Services
•     A4.8 - Teaching and related personnel in medical and allied medical courses of higher education institutions, including personnel handling laboratories
•     A4.9 - Frontline workers in hotels and accommodation
•     A4.10 - Priests, pastors, religious leaders regardless of denomination
•     A4.11 - Construction workers in government infrastructure projects
•     A4.12 - Security guards/personnel assigned in the establishments, offices, agencies, and organizations identified in Table 1
•     A4.13 - OFWs not classified above, and scheduled for deployment within two months

Edillon said those included in the A4 group are workers with “high levels of interaction with or exposure to the public” and those part of sectors “needed to ensure security, consumer and worker safety, and those working in priority government projects.”

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire added that media workers are not included in the A4 sector as they belong to the “B” classification along with other workers.

“If this will be discussed in the IATF and resolved na isasali (to be included), then that would be something that we need to change or include in this framework,” she said.

How can workers register for vaccination?

Edillon said establishments, agencies, organizations (EAOs) must issue a “certificate of A4 eligibility” to their employees prior to vaccination.

This certificate must be signed by the owner of the establishment, highest ranking personnel of the agency or organization, or the company’s head of human resources.

Vergeire denied a lawmaker’s claim that the issuance of certificates will further delay the vaccination program.

“This is just to ensure that we are vaccinating those who are really belonging to this A4 priority list,” she said.

“This won’t be a cause for delay if we start doing it now. Masterlist your employees and give them the certificate required by NEDA so that vaccination won’t be delayed,” she told employers in Filipino.

When will the A4 group start getting vaccinated?

Edillon said the start of the inoculation of the A4 group is dependent on the country’s vaccine supply.

“Best-case scenario is we can start in May but it can actually slide to around June,” she said.

Over 1.1 million individuals have been vaccinated in the Philippines as of April 11.

The country has 146,519 active cases as of Sunday afternoon. —AOL, GMA News