By Pearl Gumapos
The government has approved and is aiming to start vaccinations for the A4 and A5 priority groups next month, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Tuesday (May 18) in a virtual press briefing.
Vaccinations for the A4 and A5 clusters will start after the month of May or when there is a steady supply of vaccines.
“Ia-announce po namin next week, just in case, kung makakapagsimula na po tayo sa A4 at A5,” Galvez said.
“Nais ko pong i-emphasize [na] ang adhikain ng ating administrasyon, sa ilalim ng pamamahala ng ating [Pangulo], ay mabakunahan ang lahat ng Pilipino nang libre. Dito po nagmumula ang aming paniniwala na no one is safe until everyone is safe,” he added.
The A4 priority group is composed of frontline personnel in essential sectors, including uninformed personnel, while the A5 priority group contains the indigent population.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has recommended a list of subsections for the A4 cluster which includes economic sectors that are exposed to high levels of interaction.
The following is the list of recommendations made by NEDA, the lead agency for the Recovery Cluster of the National Task Force against COVID-19:
Accommodation; transportation, including logistics services; public administration and defense; manufacturing of food, beverages, medical, and pharmaceutical products; religious organizations; food service; financial services, except insurance; and basic and higher education. -jlo
