DOH studying recommendation on allowing vaccinated people to go maskless

Published May 28, 2021 12:59 PM By JULIA MARI ORNEDO, GMA News

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said it was studying a recommendation to allow individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 to remove their face masks.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stressed, however, that COVID-19 vaccination will not be the sole basis for allowing individuals to go maskless, as the number of cases and the healthcare utilization rate will also be taken into account.

“Ang ginagawa natin, tayo po ay nag-aaral na nitong sinasabing rekomendasyon na ito para makita natin (We are studying these recommendations to see) if we can also apply this in specific bubbles,” she said in an online briefing.

In an interview on ANC, OCTA Research fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco said the government “has to be ready to gradually relax” health protocols as more Filipinos get vaccinated “to give us hope and to give an incentive to those who are hesitant.”

Austriaco said the United States has not yet attained herd immunity but has lifted mask mandates for people who are vaccinated.

Vergeire said that while more than a million individuals have received two doses

of a COVID-19 jab locally, this figure pales in comparison to the country’s 110-million population.

“Kung sa Estados Unidos po ay nagkaroon sila ng polisiya na pwede nang hindi mag-mask kapag nasa labas, tayo po dito, hindi pa rin po natin ‘yan makonsidera kasi ‘yung rate ng vaccination natin, hindi naman pareho doon sa Estados Unidos,” she said.

(If in the United States, they have allowed vaccinated people to go maskless, we in the Philippines cannot yet consider that because our rate of vaccination is not the same as theirs.)

“Mahirap po tayong magkumpara sa ibang bansa sa estado natin ngayon… Meron pa rin po tayong mga pailang ilang lugar dito sa ating bansa na tumataas po ang kaso,” she added.

(It’s hard to compare our situation to that of other countries. We still have areas where cases are increasing.)

The World Health Organization has said even vaccinated people must continue wearing masks in areas with COVID-19 transmission, saying “vaccines are life-saving but on their own, they are not enough.”—AOL, GMA News
 

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