DAVAO CITY – Employees of the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies here have lauded the city government's initiative to bring the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine booster rollout to their offices.
The initiative forms part of the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force's goal to intensify the vaccine booster rollout, in partnership with the private sector in the city.
“As a call center agent who works on the graveyard shift, I saw how quickly the virus spreads because most of us have low immune systems,” call center worker Joe Perjes said in an interview Tuesday.
Perjes, a worker in one of the BPO companies here said he strongly agrees with the city government initiative because of its good effect in controlling and reducing the number of infected persons.
However, Perjes said that while the drive aims to ensure everyone's safety, he expressed hope it will not be made compulsory.
Peter Paul Mulit, another BPO worker, said bringing the vaccines inside their workplace promotes safety and health in the industry.
“It is advantageous on our part because we will no longer go to the vaccination sites, and we can avoid gatherings,” he said.
For Venus Aileen Jordan, a mandatory vaccination would be acceptable for everyone's safety, even if she had experienced adverse effects during her first and second doses.
“Honestly, I really had hesitations because of what I experienced before. But if it helps increase the booster vaccination rate, then this would further protect people from the threat of the virus," Jordan said.
Moreover, Dr. Michelle Schlosser, spokesperson of the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force, assured they will respect the inputs gathered from the BPO sector on the ways to protect their employees from the virus.
“The BPOs will provide a master list of their employees' vaccination status to the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force, then we will conduct a mobile vaccination in BPO offices,” she added.
As of April 8, only 18.3 percent of the 1,301,119 fully vaccinated Dabawenyos have received their booster shots, the task force said. (PNA)
