Gov't urged to prioritize Pinoy athletes bound for Tokyo Olympics, SEA Games in vaccination

Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero is urging the government to prioritize Filipino athletes bound for the Tokyo Olympics and the 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam in its COVID-19 vaccination program.

Romero's proposal is contained in House Resolution 1507, in which he called on the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the appropriate government agencies to classify the athletes as "frontliners" so that they can be prioritized in the COVID-19 vaccination.

LOOK: Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero urges IATF to classify Filipino athletes bound to participate in the Tokyo Olympics and the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam as frontliners, prioritizing them in the government's COVID-19 vaccination program. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/2tBp7UXFQo

— Erwin Colcol (@erwincolcol) January 26, 2021

The Philippine government plans to inoculate 50 to 70 million individuals within the year and the earliest possible arrival of COVID-19 vaccines may happen by February 20, said vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.

According to the government's vaccination roadmap, health workers and frontliners will be the first to receive the vaccine, followed by employees of select government offices, indigent senior citizens, and other seniors and indigents.

But Romero, in his resolution, argued that the national athletes will have to undergo qualifying stages for the Tokyo Olympics and the SEA Games as early as April and May this year.

"The state recognizes the importance of sports development to foster social progress and promote total human development. The state also recognizes the tireless and selfless sacrifice of our national athletes," he said.

"[Thus], it is imperative that our national athletes should be classified as frontliners in order to prioritize their vaccination against COVID-19 in the soonest possible time, to ensure that they will be allowed to participate in the qualifying stages," he added.

The Tokyo Olympics was originally set for July 24 to August 9, 2020, but it was rescheduled to July 23 to August 28, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam is scheduled from November 21 to December 2. —LDF, GMA News