MANILA — The vaccination status of tourism workers under the A1 and A4 priority health groups in the National Capital Region (NCR) has reached 95% as of Aug. 20, a development foreseen to increase recovery prospects for the local tourism scene.
Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat reported that a total of 27,708 tourism frontliners out of 29,066 have been inoculated against COVID-19 as of Aug. 20.
The majority or 19,350 of these workers were from the A1 priority group (healthcare workers) while those from the A4 sector (economic frontliners) comprised the remaining 8,358 workers. Both groups are employed in quarantine/isolation facilities, multiple-use hotels, and staycation hotels accredited by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
“The DOT hails this important milestone in vaccinating our tourism stakeholders. The inoculation of our tourism frontliners is a big step towards the recovery of the industry,” Puyat said.
“We shall continue our close collaboration with the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19, local government units (LGUs), and relevant public and private agencies in securing vaccine doses to expedite the inoculation of more tourism workers, especially those in destinations that rely heavily on tourism,” she added.
Puyat expressed her gratitude to the Department of Health, the NTF through chief implementer Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. and deputy chief implementer Sec. Vince Dizon, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Benhur Abalos, and all LGU leaders and chief health officers in Metro Manila for their full-fledged support for the DOT’s vaccination drive for tourism workers.
The tourism chief likewise noted the valuable contribution of industry associations such as the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association in ensuring the successful turnout of the initiative.
“This near-100% inoculation took a whole-of-government approach and could not have been accomplished without our national and local government leaders, as well as our partners from the private sector who supported the program in the spirit of bayanihan,” Puyat said.
Meanwhile, 2,778 out of the 4,565 workers of DOT-accredited restaurants in 13 cities in the NCR, or about 61%, have received their COVID-19 vaccines.
The DOT said there are remaining challenges in inoculating 100% of tourism frontliners, including employees’ refusal to be vaccinated and vaccine brand preference.
Other reasons include the work-from-home setup of some tourism workers, pregnancy, and comorbidities (e.g. allergies to medicine, hypertension). (DOT) – jlo
