MANILA – Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr., said on Wednesday that the National Capital Region (NCR) is on schedule to fully vaccinate roughly 72.56 percent of its eligible population against Covid-19 by October this year.
Abalos stated in a virtual press conference that the figure is based on NCR’s eligible population of 9,800,000, or 70% of the region’s current population of 14 million people.
As of now, he stated that a total of 12,509,552 Covid-19 vaccines have been provided in the region, with 8,009,042 receiving their first dose and 4,500,5100 receiving two doses.
Once an agreed-upon vaccination objective is met, Abalos said the Metro Manila Council (MMC) is considering “vaccine bubbles”, or allowing fully vaccinated individuals to use facilities and services deemed unsafe for the unvaccinated.
“Kasi mahirap yung wala ka pa sa target na yun and then you’ll be setting certain policies (Because it will be hard if we still don’t have a target but we’ll be setting certain policies),” he said.
While enforcing the policies, he also stressed the significance of avoiding discrimination towards the unvaccinated.
“Sana hindi maging discriminatory in a sense na bawal ka pumasok kung hindi ka bakunado. But instead, para magkaroon sana ng positive reinforcement (Hopefully it won’t be discriminatory like you’re not allowed to enter if you’re unvaccinated. But instead, there should be positive reinforcement),” Abalos said.
Allowing the vaccinated to engage in certain activities in crowded and enclosed settings that are currently restricted by health and safety regulations, he said, is one example.
“Being vaccinated could instead be an incentive na pwede kang pumasok. Yun, medyo tinitignan natin yun at pinag-aaralan para lang makatulong na rin sa ekonomiya (that you’re allowed to enter. That, we’re looking at and studying to help the economy),” Abalos said.
