Frontline workers of the Philippine Congress may get vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) soon as they are now part of the A4 priority group of the government's vaccination program.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after they announced that 5,000 workers under Priority Group A4 will receive their vaccine on May 1, Labor Day.
In his statement, Roque said the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases decided to include frontline workers of Congress in the said priority group for their role in the country's fight against COVID-19.
"The IATF likewise considered frontliners of the Congress of the Philippines to be placed under Priority Group A4 of the National COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Plan in recognition of their critical and indispensable role in our fight against the coronavirus pandemic," he said.
The inclusion of frontline Congress was stated in IATF Resolution No. 112. The said resolution, however, did not detail who these Congress frontliners were.
Originally, the Priority Group A4 is composed of frontline personnel in essential sectors including uniformed personnel and other sectors identified as essential during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
The said priority group was later on updated to include more workers from different industries including the media, food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and transportation, among others.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who co-chairs the IATF, said this month that the vaccination of people in Priority Group A4 of the National COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Plan may start in the middle of May.
He, however, urged local government units (LGUs) to submit the list of people qualified to receive the vaccine under the A4 priority group so the national government can make preparations.
The government rolled out its vaccination program on March 1. The top priority in the vaccination program is healthcare workers in the A1 group. Next are senior citizens in the A2 group, followed by persons with comorbidities in the A3 group.