5K Covid vax reserved for minimum wage earners, OFWs on May 1

MANILA – Around 5,000 doses of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine have been reserved for minimum wage earners and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in time for the observance of Labor Day on May 1, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

In a press statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the proposal to administer around 5,000 Covid-19 vaccine shots to minimum wage workers and OFWs included in the A4 vaccination group on May 1.

“The Inter-Agency Task Force on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, approved the request of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for 5,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to be used during the symbolic inoculation ceremony of minimum wage workers and overseas Filipino workers under Priority Group A4 on May 1, 2021,” Roque said.

The DOLE, Roque said, has been directed to create a master list to ensure the “equitable representation of the labor sector during the said ceremony.”

He said the IATF-EID also approved the proposal to place front-liners in Congress under the A4 category.

He said their inclusion in the A4 list demonstrates the IATF-EID’s recognition of their “critical and dispensable role” in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Based on the list earlier approved by the IATF-EID, the sectors belonging to the A4 group include:

* Commuter transport (land, air, and sea), including logistics;
* Public and private wet and dry market vendors;
* Frontline workers in groceries, supermarkets, delivery services;
* Workers in manufacturing for food, beverage, medical and pharmaceutical products;
* Frontline workers in food retail, including food service delivery;
* Frontline workers in private and government financial services;
* Frontline workers in hotels and accommodation establishments;
* Priests, rabbis, imams, and other religious leaders;
* Security guards/ personnel assigned in offices, agencies, and organizations identified on the list of priority industries/sectors;
* Frontline workers in private and government news media;
* Customer-facing personnel of telecoms, cable and internet service providers, electricity distribution and water distribution utilities;
* Frontline personnel in basic education and higher education institutions and agencies;
* OFWs, including those scheduled for deployment within two months;
* Frontline workers in law/justice, security, and social protection sectors;
* Front-line government workers engaged in the operations of the government transport system, quarantine inspection;
* Worker safety inspection and other Covid-19 response activities;
* Frontline government workers in charge of tax collection, assessment of businesses for incentives, election, national ID, data collection personnel;
* Diplomatic community and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) personnel in consular operations; and
* Department of Public Works and Highways personnel in charge of monitoring government infrastructure projects.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) earlier said establishments, agencies, and organizations (EAOs) shall issue certificates of A4 eligibility to their employees who belong to the category.

The NEDA said EAOs are also encouraged to provide logistics support, including transportation, to facilitate their workers’ vaccination.

EAOs are also urged to adopt a scheduling system for their workers, taking into consideration possible adverse reactions after vaccination which may result in workers taking time off from work.