Inclusion of media workers in vaccine priority list lauded

SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go lauded the government for including media workers in the list of essential sectors to be given vaccine priority.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is set to finalize guidelines and formalize the inclusion of media workers, specifically those from news outlets, in the A4 group in their meeting on Thursday.

“Ang media ay napaka-importanteng sektor at maituturing ding essential workers dahil sa tungkulin na kanilang ginagampanan. Sila ang nagdadala ng balita at kasangga natin sila sa pagbibigay ng tamang impormasyon sa publiko (The role of media is vital and they are considered essential, workers. They disseminate news and they help us bring the right information to the public),” Go said.

“Sa araw-araw nilang coverage, palagi silang exposed sa banta ng Covid-19. Kaya dapat lang na maproteksyunan agad sila ng bakuna (In their daily coverage, they are exposed to infection, thus they need to get jabs immediately),” he added.

Testing czar Secretary Vivencio Dizon on Tuesday said members of the media will be included in the A4 group, which is composed of frontline personnel in essential sectors.

The National Economic and Development Authority said the A4 classification includes workers who have “high levels of interaction with or exposure to the public” and economic sectors that are “needed to ensure security, consumers and worker safety.”