The Philippine government has simplified the list of workers eligible for Covid-19 vaccination under the A4 priority category, the Palace announced on Friday.
In a statement, spokesman of the Palace and the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases Harry Roque said the following are the workers under the A4 category:
- private sector workers required to be physically present at their designated workplace outside their residences
- employees in government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned and controlled corporations and local government units
- informal sector workers and self-employed who may be required to work outside their residences, and those working in private households.
Previously, the A4 classification included only workers in select “essential” industries.
Roque said local government units could give preference for persons aged 40 to 59 years old.
The IATF has also approved the deployment of vaccines for A4 workers in the “NCR-Plus 8,” composed of the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Pampanga, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao.
Also included in the category are outbound overseas Filipino workers for deployment within the next four months from the intended date of vaccination and immediate family members of healthcare workers to the A1 category.
About 4.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been deployed in the Philippines. John Ezekiel J. Hirro