The Department of Health (DOH) is not yet keen in recommending to lift the face mask policy for fully vaccinated individuals, saying that several factors should be considered first.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that among the factors to be considered are the rate of vaccination, number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, and the healthcare utilization rate, among others.
“The vaccines will protect us individually, by communities, and families if it's coupled with other responses that we have like following the minimum health protocols. Meron tayong mga kinokonsidera para makapag lift ng ganitong restrictions, hindi lang pagpapabakuna (We also consider other factors to be able to lift such restrictions, not just in terms of vaccination),” she said.
Vergeire noted that the number of fully vaccinated individuals in the country is still low if it will be compared to the Philippines’ total population. She added that the country is still far in achieving herd immunity.
As of May 26, the total number of fully vaccinated individuals nationwide stood at 1,029,061. The country’s total population, meanwhile, is about 108 million.
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The DOH spokesperson added that it is difficult to compare the Philippines to other countries such as the United States.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear face masks outdoors.
“I just want to remind our citizens, mahirap po tayong magkumpara sa ibang bansa sa estado natin ngayon. Kung sa Estados Unidos po sila po ay nagkaroon na ng polisiya na pwede ng hindi mag mask pag nasa labas, tayo po dito hindi pa rin natin iyan makonsidera kasi yun pong rate ng vaccination natin hindi naman po pareho sa Estados Unidos (I just want to remind our citizens, it is difficult for us to compare ourselves with other countries considering our current state. If in the United States they already had a policy that they do not need to wear mask outdoors, here (in our country)--- we still can’t consider that due to the rate of our vaccination, which is not similar that of the United States),” said Vergeire.
“Marami na po silang nabakunahan na mga kababayan nila, sa atin po hindi pa po tayo umaabot sa ganoong porsyento at saka meron pa rin po tayong pailan-ilan na mga lugar sa ating bansa na tumataas ang kaso (Many of their citizens have already been vaccinated. In our country, we have not yet reached that percentage and we still have a few areas in our country where the number of cases is still increasing),” she added.
Vergeire, however, said that the government is open in studying this kind of proposal of lifting the face mask policy for fully vaccinated people.
“Ang ginagawa natin, tayo ay nag-aaral na niitong sinasabing rekomendasyon na ito para makita natin if we can also apply this in specific bubbles. Pag-aaralan po ito ng ating mga eksperto together with the IATF (Interagency Task Force) at magbibigay po tayo ng information (What we are doing, we are studying this recommendation so we can see if we can also apply this in specific bubbles. Our experts will study this together with the IATF and we will provide information),” she said.