OFW vaccinated against COVID fears travel ban may spoil return-home plan

A 36-year-old nurse in a government hospital in Frankfurt, Germany has expressed apprehensions over his plan of coming home, despite having been vaccinated against COVID-19 because of the ongoing travel restriction enforced in the Philippines.

“More than one year na akong hindi nakakauwi at hindi nakakapiling ang mag-ina ko dahil sa pandemic na ito,” said Kirby Nomo Ilarde who works in the Neurology-Neurosurgery Intermediate Care Unit.

“Kaso na-list ngayon ang Germany dito sa bagong COVID variant. Mandatory two weeks [isolation]. Paano naman yung complete na ang vaccine? Need pa rin ba na mag-quarantine sa probinsya kahit naka-two weeks na sa quarantine facilities?” the native from Buhi, Camarines Sur told GMA News online in an interview via Messenger on January 5.

Ilarde had been vaccinated with Pfizer-BionTech on December 27 and would be receiving the second dose on January 17, or 10 days before his flight to the Philippines.

“Okay naman yung injection. Di ko naramdaman kasi sobrang gaan nung kamay ng nag-inject. Ang nagi-inject ng vaccine dito sa Germany ay mga doctors.”

“After four hours ko na lang naramdaman na medyo masakit yung left arm ko kung saan ako ininjectan then early morning, mga around 3 a.m., nagising ako dahil dahil sa headache. Matamlay lang ako the whole day na parang inaantok. Ngayon, wala na akong nararamdaman.”

Recently, President Rodrigo Duterte has imposed a ban on entry of travelers coming from the country Ilarde is based, as well as from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Canada, and Spain to the Philippines until January 15 amid concerns about the new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.  

The ban should have just lasted until December 31, 2020 but has since  been extended to January 15.

“Sana nga, till January 15 lang. Pabago-bago kasi ang policy ng IATF. Nakaka-stress din sa aming mga OFW. Pero naintindihan ko kasi para naman sa safety ng lahat.” —LBG, GMA News