Presidential adviser optimistic gov’t will approve ‘bakuna bubbles’ soon

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose Ma. “Joey” Concepcion III is optimistic that the government will give the go ahead for businesses to implement “bakuna bubbles” where establishments will be given the prerogative to only accept vaccinated individuals.

Concepcion on Monday said he is in constant coordination with members of the Cabinet and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) regarding the proposal.

“I expect that this gets approved sooner, because I don’t think many of these entrepreneurs can last, especially if you cross over the fourth quarter,” he said in a virtual briefing.

“We must allow them — the vaccinated people — more mobility so that these people will start to have good cash flow to be able to bring back banking confidence,” he added.

Concepcion has repeatedly cited the need for “bubbles” for individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19, citing measures implemented overseas where vaccinations are mandated for a range of gatherings, and by certain businesses.

Under the proposed bakuna bubble, unvaccinated individuals are allowed to go from their homes to their workplaces. They are not restricted from entering malls, but will have to present a negative antigen or RT-PCR test to enter high-risk establishments such as gyms, salons, restaurants, and cafes.

The bakuna bubble is being proposed for initial implementation in the National Capital Region (NCR), which accounts for over a third of the country’s gross domestic product. It is targeted to be implemented when the region has vaccinated at least 50% of the eligible population.

“I have a lot of optimism. I think everybody wants to give it a try. What else, what do we have to lose at this point in time? We are already basically losing in terms of the current businesses that are not operating as we speak,” said Concepcion.

“When you open and allow the vaccinated to come in, you are allowing somebody who has a shield to be able to create mobility so that the economy will move on and we save at least a part of it,” he added.

The Philippines on Monday reported a fresh record-high daily case tally of 22,366 to bring the country’s active cases up to 148,594. The latest figures bring the total case count to 1,976,202 which includes 1,794,278 recoveries and 33,330 deaths.—AOL, GMA News