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Poll personnel, BPO workers now part of A4 vax priority group

By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos

May 21, 2021, 1:41 pm

MANILA – The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has approved the inclusion of workers of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and those in business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in the A4 priority group for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination.

This developed following appeals to the interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (iNITAG) to include Comelec personnel and BPO employees in the government’s Covid-19 vaccination priority list.

“On vaccination, the front line employees of the business process outsourcing industry and the frontline employees of the Commission on Elections have been recommended to iNITAG to be included in the Priority Group A4,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press statement.

All front line personnel in essential sectors are under the A4 category.

Earlier, the Comelec urged the government to allow its personnel to be moved to a higher notch in the A4 priority listing to protect them against Covid-19 as they register more Filipino voters for next year’s elections.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority had also made an appeal to allow BPO workers to be part of the A4 priority group to “ensure the unhampered service to contribute to the global supply chain.

LPG dealers, retailers included in A4.2 group

Roque said liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dealers, retailers and attendants are now part of the “A4.2” vaccination group.

They will be listed under the “retail trade operators and front-liners,” Roque said.

“Liquefied petroleum gas dealers, retailers and attendants now form part of the approved Priority Group A4.2 for vaccine deployment under the “retail trade operators and front-liners,” he said.

The Philippines aims to inoculate up to 70 million by year-end to achieve herd immunity.

Scale up contact tracing app

Meantime, the IATF-EID has also approved the recommendation of the National Economic and Development Authority to scale up the contact tracing applications of various local government units, including Pasig, Mandaluyong, Antipolo, and Valenzuela, Roque said.

Roque said the Department of Information and Communication Technology and the Department of the Interior and Local Government have been directed to issue a policy “to ensure all contact tracing applications are interoperable.” (PNA)

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