Concepcion urges June deadline for booster card requirement
PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said that the booster card requirement must start by June this year in order for people to have time enough to get their shots.
“We do not implement it right away,” said Concepcion. “I understand it will take time for them to get the booster, but considering that vaccines are now more accessible, people are free to move around, and we have adequate supply, I think two and a half months, or until June, would be enough time to take the boosters,” said the Go Negosyo founder.
“We need this push,” he said. “Right now there is no danger. The danger is in the next semester when the waning immunity might be felt already. And this is not counting the possibility that new variants might emerge,” he said.
He made this statement as he reiterated the call to make booster cards the new requirement, replacing vaccination cards as the document needed for entry into enclosed establishments and other spaces. The Go Negosyo founder sees the move as a way to speed up booster vaccinations and address the expiry of vaccines in stock—around 27 million according to a recent report, part of which were purchased by the private sector—by July this year.
The proposal was earlier backed by National Task Force (NTF) adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa, who noted that while the country has a “good vaccination record” considering more than 65 million of its citizens have fully vaccinated, only 11.8 million individuals have received their boosters. Dr. Herbosa noted that it will be good to encourage and incentivize people to take their booster shots, and that such an effort would help the government administer vaccines that are about to expire.
Leaders of Philippine business groups also backed the proposal for mandatory booster cards, including Eric Teng and Federico Moreno, who head groups representing restaurateurs and salon/spa owners, respectively. Also supporting the proposal are businessmen representing franchising and retail groups.
Concepcion observed that the Philippines is currently one of the few countries in Asia that is being spared from a surge in cases. However, as the country has started opening its borders to foreign visitors, it might increase the risk of possible surges in cases.
He warned of a “double whammy” by the second half of the year if the Russia-Ukraine conflict drags on and sends commodity prices skyrocketing and causes further supply chain logjams.
Increased mobility and the mass gathering of people at political rallies has so far not resulted in increase in cases, but Concepcion believes this might be lulling people into complacency and causing them to put off vaccinations and boosters.
Concepcion also expressed concern that should the vaccines spoil, it will discourage the government from prioritizing vaccinations, considering it has already spent billions of dollars in pandemic response spending. “Our vaccines will not last until the end of the year and we need to encourage Filipinos to do their duty and take their boosters,” he said.
“We need to encourage the incoming administration that, by buying vaccines for the people and the people are willingly taking it, it is not throwing good money after bad by buying vaccines,” he said.
“The private sector can buy its own vaccines, but what about the MSMEs? What about the rest of the population?” he said. “If there is anything we’ve learned from our more than two years of keeping this pandemic under control, it is that we have to do it together. We can’t leave anyone behind, and we can’t leave anything to chance,” he said.
