NEW DOH GUIDELINES TO FORCE PRIVATE FIRMS NOT TO PRIORITIZE SOME WORKERS FOR JABS
The chair of the Senate economic affairs committee cried foul on Sunday over a new regulatory roadblock that she said would discourage private firms from importing vaccines against COVID-19 for their workers by excluding those who were not considered priority.
Under the new guidelines of the National Vaccine Deployment Plan (NVDP) helmed by the Department of Health (DOH), “companies [would] now be required to issue a socalled Certificate of A4 Eligibility,” Sen. Imee Marcos said, referring to the target group for vaccination covering front-line employees in essential sectors.
She said workers of private companies that purchased the vaccine under tripartite deals with the government and drug manufacturers would be forced to disqualify their own employees who were not eligible under A4 classification.
A4 is the fourth highest priority among population groups after A1 representing health workers, A2 representing senior citizens, and A3 representing persons with comorbidities or other ailments.
In a statement, Marcos said the new DOH requirement for procuring companies would “exclude certain employees from priority vaccination even if their company’s products or services [were] considered essential, as food, pharmaceuticals and transport.”
She said the updated NVDP guidelines put in place 13 sub-classes for A4, comprising front-line workers in the private sector and the government, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in similar jobs, and the new addition of religious leaders.
Marcos said it “[would] force the private sector to discriminate against its own workers and [would] likely cause confusion, resentment and disorder not only within companies but also in [local governments] tasked to administer vaccines nationwide.”
“We cannot look forward to reopening the economy if the DOH keeps shutting the door,” she warned.
“With so many new sub-classes in A4, the DOH should instead be giving incentives to private companies to vaccinate their rank and file, so that businesses can again run smoothly and recover swiftly,” Marcos said.
“Nor should OFWs be turned away by [local governments] if they cannot present the same certificate before taking the jab. The DOH does not even identify who will issue the certificates to them,” she added.
Draft order
Marcos noted an earlier draft order by the DOH to disqualify manufacturers of tobacco, alcohol, milk substitutes and other products deemed in conflict with public health from purchasing their own vaccines. But the plan was terminated after public outrage.
Vice President Leni Robredo, meanwhile, urged local governments to “be more proactive” in convincing essential front-line workers not given the option to work from home to get vaccinated first as the country’s supply of jabs remains limited.
At present, the country’s vaccination deployment schedule places those below 60 years old but with comorbidities in the A3 priority group, after health workers (A1) and senior citizens (A2).
“However, I suggest that within the [A3 group], there should be another subgroup— those who have no capacity to work from home,” Robredo said in her weekly radio show.
“Our public transport drivers, pharmaceutical store workers, market vendors—they should be first. [I enjoin those] who are working from home [to wait first] because our [vaccine] supplies are extremely limited,” she added.
Robredo noted that there were reports that several eligible beneficiaries failed to sign up for online registration slots for vaccination because they did not know the procedure or had no access to the internet. “So for those who are asking our office how to help, this is one of the ways you can volunteer. In your own areas, find out how many vaccines are available, and if you know somebody not working from home because of the [nature of their job] let’s make sure they are the first in line,” she said.
At present, anyone eligible under the deployment schedule is being encouraged to sign up for vaccination.
Robredo, however, was careful to note that the onus of maximizing the limited supplies to prioritize the most vulnerable “might be more on the Department of Health, the government’s inter-agency task force, and the city governments to be more proactive in encouraging those who cannot work from home to get the vaccine first.”