IATF: More economic frontliners, members of media, religious, education sector in A4 priority for vaccines

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte presides over a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members prior to his talk to the people at the Malacañang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in Malacañang Park, Manila on April 15, 2021. KING RODRIGUEZ/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

 

(Eagle News)– Malacanang said that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has approved the inclusion of more economic frontliners, members of the religious sector, education frontliners, members of media, and members of the diplomatic community in the A4 priority group to get vaccines.

In a release, the Palace said that the IATF approved on Thursday, April 15, these sectors to be part of the National COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Plan.

Priority Group A4 includes 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; and frontline workers in hotels and accommodation establishments.

Also included in the Priority Group A4 list are priests, rabbis, imams, and other religious leaders; security guards/ personnel assigned in offices, agencies, and organizations identified in 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; and overseas Filipino workers, including those scheduled for deployment within two months.

Frontline workers in law/justice, security, and social protection sectors; frontline government workers engaged in the operations of 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 the Department of Public Works and Highways personnel in charge of monitoring government infrastructure projects are also part of the Priority Group A4 list.

Those in the A4 priority group follow those with comorbidities (A3), the elderly (A2), and the workers in frontline health services (A1) to get the vaccines as protection against COVID-19.

-More IATF actions announced-

Malacanang said that the IATF had also “approved the continuation of the training of the national athletes at the Olympic Training Bubble in Calamba, Laguna, the extension of the temporary suspension of foreign nationals until April 30, 2021, while foreign nationals with valid entry exemption documents duly issued by the DFA prior to March 22, 2021 will be allowed entry to the Philippines.”

The IATF also approved the extension of the risk-level classification of Quirino Province under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine until April 30.

(Eagle News Service)