BY IRMA ISIP and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
TRADE Secretary Ramon Lopez yesterday pushed for the grant of incentives to fully vaccinated individuals, including freer mobility outside of their homes, in a bid to encourage more people to take part in the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.
Lopez among the incentives that he proposed to the Inter-agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is that persons aged 65 years old and above be allowed to go out of their houses and travel a month after their second dose.
He said he has also asked the task force to allow domestic and incoming international travelers to undergo shorter quarantines after being tested negative of the virus.
Lopez said the move will benefit investors who want to come to the country but are discouraged by the government-mandated 14-day quarantine period.
“We have to vaccinate more and more of the population so we can move forward to reopening the economy. Otherwise, we will go back to stricter quarantines. Before the pandemic, the unemployment rate was at 4.5 percent to 5 percent and we want to at least return to that level,” Lopez said at the ceremonial vaccination for the A4 category, or economic frontliners, held at the SM Mall of Asia.
“For those already vaccinated, probably they might have certain incentives also that the IATF will be discussing,” he added.
Lopez said those who have been fully vaccinated can use the vaccine card provided by their local government units (LGUs) while waiting for the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to complete the digital application it is developing that would be used to certify those who have been inoculated.
Earlier this month, the Philippine government shortened the quarantine period for fully vaccinated inbound travelers to seven days from 14.
“Similar moves will be undertaken, will be studied,” Lopez said, reiterating that the immediate benefit of being vaccinated is that those who have already received their doses are protected from getting infected with severe COVID-19, and from dying because of it.
“The real benefit for those who get vaccinated is that they will not die from COVID-19. That is the safest and best benefit,” he said.
The Philippines yesterday reported 6,539 new cases, bringing to 1,276,004 the total cases in the country.
