COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Duterte adviser wants 'bakuna bubble' tested in NCR areas with high vaccination rates

Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion on Friday pushed for a test implementation of “bakuna bubbles” in Metro Manila cities with high vaccination rates against COVID-19.

In a statement, Concepcion said implementing the “bakuna bubbles” in National Capital Region (NCR) areas with high vaccination rates can contribute to the country’s vaccination program and at the same time test if it is the way to safely reopen the economy.

“We can implement the ‘bakuna bubble’ concept in an LGU (local government unit) in NCR with a high vaccination rate to test if the model will work,” said Concepcion, who has been espousing the bubble idea.

Concepcion said that the proposal can be implemented even in the midst of a surge.

He added that if the “bakuna bubble” is proven to work at high-vaccination LGUs, then it can then be implemented at the NCR level as vaccinations increase.

Early this week, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said imposing “bakuna bubbles” at this time may face legal challenges for discriminatory treatment. 

Although the suggestion to have "bakuna bubbles" was made to protect the vaccinated and unvaccinated, to encourage those not vaccinated to get inoculated, and to help boost the economy, Guevarra pointed out that vaccines are not yet available in some areas.

The Justice chief noted that when the time comes that vaccines are readily available to everyone such that there is no reason why anyone would refuse a vaccine except for medical reasons, then it would be reasonable to refuse to have unvaccinated people in some areas.

Concepcion, however, believes that simultaneously intensifying vaccinations to create “bakuna bubbles” can help the country attain herd immunity at a much faster rate.

He said such bubbles are the “small steps” that will eventually lead to the country’s attainment of herd immunity.

“For the entire Philippines to achieve higher vaccination rates, these Bakuna Bubbles have to likewise cooperate in vaccinating their members. These are small steps that will then accumulate,” Concepcion said.

The so-called “bakuna bubbles” are pockets of micro-herd immunity among closed groups, such as homes and workplaces.

The solution has been proposed to enable the economy to safely reopen while the rest of the population is inoculated.

It also requires unvaccinated persons to present a negative antigen or RT-PCR test before entering high-risk establishments such as restaurants, salons, coffee shops, gyms, among others.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez is also pushing to allow fully-vaccinated individuals to avail of dine-in and personal care services in a bid to encourage others to get vaccinated. 

“The presence of the Delta variant has changed the game, but the key objectives of vaccines--preventing hospitalization, deaths, and transmission--remain the same. Those fully vaccinated have a slimmer chance of contracting severe infections and that is for certain,” Concepcion said. —KBK, GMA News