Solon backs proposed ‘bakuna bubble’
A lawmaker urged the government to continue achieving its daily vaccination target under its pandemic response program.
Rizal Representative Fidel Nograles expressed support for the proposed “bakuna bubble” for Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
He said allocating more vaccines to commuter towns around the Metro makes more sense with the “bakuna bubble” proposed by Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez and Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion.
Reports said Metro Manila is still falling short of the 250,000 doses daily vaccination target.
“The low vaccination rates in Metro Manila is understandable given the recent imposition of stricter quarantine rules and the infection of a number of our healthcare workers due to the Delta variant,” Nograles said.
“The reasons for failing to reach the mark still persist as of the moment and one of the ways to vaccinate more people is to widen the coverage and include municipalities around NCR,” he added.
Nograles, a member of the Metro Manila Development Committee in the House of Representatives, explained that broadening the target area for vaccination means more helping hands as the government’s vaccination program can access more healthcare workers in Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite.
“Besides, we have been using the term NCR Plus long enough to understand that Metro Manila is affected by what is happening to residents of nearby towns. It is about time to give these areas the attention they deserve,” he further said.
Nograles shared the sentiments of his constituents in Rizal.
“In Montalban alone where I live, we are continuously receiving inquiries on when we will get enough vaccines for our town. A lot of these people work in Metro Manila and some of them are riders that regularly enter malls to get their customers’ food orders. What will be the scenario once we implement this ‘bakuna bubble’ without allocating sufficient vaccines for these essential workers? We need to think about them as well,” Nograles explained.
