DOLE to hold COVID-19 vaccination for OFWs on Nov. 10

The Department of Labor and Employment on Monday said it will conduct COVID-19 vaccinations on Wednesday, November 10, on overseas Filipino workers at the Labor Governance Learning Center at the DOLE Building in Intramuros, Manila.

Around 2,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines donated by the government of Brunei will be administered to OFWs in line for deployment, the DOLE said.

According to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, recruitment agencies around the country have been instructed to bring unvaccinated OFW applicants to the designated vaccination site.

With the help of the Manila Health Department, DOLE plans to inoculate OFWs on a first-come, first-serve basis but will prioritize Brunei-bound OFWs.

“I personally thank the Brunei government for donating the vaccines for our general population, specifically our OFWs. This will not only help accelerate the administration of the vaccines to thousands of Filipinos but will fast-track the deployment of our OFWs abroad,” Bello said in a press release.

As of the moment, the temporary suspension of deployment for overseas Filipino health workers is still in place after the country has reached the 6,500 deployment cap.

According to Bello, the lifting of the said ban will be subject to evaluation by the concerned government offices.

“The Labor Department will confer the matter with the Professional Regulation Commission, the Philippines Nurses Association (PNA) and the Department of Health (DOH) should there be a need for the increase of say, another 1,500 in the existing cap,” he said. —Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/KG, GMA News