MAP backs proposed ‘bakuna bubbles’

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), a group of top-level business managers, is supporting the proposal to incentivize  fully vaccinated individuals by relaxing restrictions on certain activities.

“We must immediately change the ‘health mostly’ narrative and action plan to combat the COVID-19 pandemic after 18 futile months of using a Community Quarantine lockdown approach,” MAP president Aurelio Montinola III said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We must strongly support a ‘Bakuna Bubble’ discussion, especially its Mobility Incentives for the Fully Vaccinated,” Montinola said.

Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion has been pushing for the implementation of “bakuna bubbles” or 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.

Concepcion proposed to test the “bakuna bubble” in Metro Manila cities with high vaccination rates. 

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

With this, Montinola said, “We appeal to the IATF to consider this new pilot proposal immediately.”

“Otherwise, ECQ may become known as the ‘Economy Casualty Quotient’ with a positivity rate of increased poverty and hunger within the 20% to 50% range. Sadly, we then doom ourselves to becoming the ‘Permanent Sick Man of Asia’,” he said.

The MAP chief noted that to safely reopen the economy, there is a need to balance “vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate” with “jobs, jobs, jobs”.

“Granular lockdowns should be complemented with the ability of fully vaccinated workers and consumers to partially enjoy the fruits of 18 months of Community Quarantine hardship,” Montinola said.

“The private sector, with the help of LGUs, has cooperated by vaccinating most of its A4 Employees and observing stringent health protocols,” he said.

“For now, the ‘Bakuna Bubble’ approach seems to be the appropriate middle ground for the Metro Manila mayors and the long suffering NCR economic engine. Additional treatment capacity and improved contact tracing likewise go hand in hand,” he added.

MAP is a 68-year-old management organization whose over 1,000 members represent a cross-section of chief executive officers, chief operating officers, and the other top management practitioners from the largest local and multinational companies operating in the Philippines.

MAP also counts some top management educators and government officials as its members. — RSJ, GMA News