COVID-19 vaccine rollout first before relaxing quarantine rules in Metro Manila — OCTA Research

MANILA, Philippines — Coronavirus vaccines must be first rolled out before movement restrictions in Metro Manila are eased, a group of researchers studying the COVID-19 outbreak in the country said Monday. 

Dr. Guido David, a member of the OCTA Research Group, said the capital region, which accounts for 42% of the country’s COVID-19 infections, should not risk an increase in cases while the government implements the vaccination program.

“For Metro Manila, I think it’s too early to risk a modified general community quarantine at this stage, especially when the vaccine rollout is about to happen. Let’s prioritize the vaccination rollout,” David said in a briefing Monday.

“It’s important that surge will not happen. We cannot risk [having] a surge while we’re rolling out the vaccines because it will delay the process of vaccination if hospitals become overwhelmed and doctors get sick,” he added in a mix of English and Filipino.

David also stressed that the economy can recover more quickly once the immunization campaign begins. The country’s economy shrank the largest on record in 2020 after coronavirus measures devastated sectors.

“Once we have it, it will be easier for us to talk about relaxing the economy even further,” he said.

Aside from Metro Manila, Cordillera Administrative Region, Batangas, Tacloban City, Davao City, Davao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Iligan City will be under GCQ for the entire month of February.

The rest of the country will be under MGCQ, the least stringent community quarantine.

Get immunized

Dr. Benjamin Co, an infectious disease specialist, agreed with David, saying the number of cases must be kept low once the vaccination rollout starts.

“The next part of the program is to encourage more people to get immunized and vaccinated because we all know the vaccine hesitancy is quite high currently,” he said.

The government's target is to inoculate at least 50 million people this year alone. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said the Philippines would receive 9.4 million doses from the two pharmaceutical firms from the World Health Organization-led COVAX facility in the first half of 2021 but the figures may still change.

The Philippines has so far recorded 525,618 COVID-19 cases, including 10,749 deaths, a year after authorities confirmed the country’s first case.