Concepcion presents ‘bakuna bubble’ to Asean counterparts

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion has presented to his counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) the proposed “bakuna bubble” as he encouraged the sharing of best practices to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the 53rd ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting, Concepcion discussed ways on how to open the economy safely amid the pandemic.

“It’s very clear that the unvaccinated are a risk to the economy in the sense that they have the greatest risk of getting confined in the hospital due to the virus. This is why we are proposing the vaccine bubble, or what we call in the Philippines as ‘bakuna bubble,’ thus, creating greater mobility for vaccinated people to spur the economy,” he said.

Under the bakuna bubble, vaccinated individuals would be allowed to enter establishments such as restaurants, salons and gyms.

Meanwhile, the unvaccinated would also be given access, but they would have to present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or antigen test.

“In the Philippines, between 70 to 80 percent of those admitted and critical patients are unvaccinated. By allowing only the vaccinated to go out in high-risk areas such as business establishments, we will be able to protect the unvaccinated and lessen the surge of hospital admissions,” Concepcion said.

He said this is the safest way to allow the economy to open while protecting the unvaccinated.

“This model clearly gears up the heads of the families to ensure that their family members are fully vaccinated, likewise with the CEOs (chief executive officers) and executives of businesses to devote all effort in convincing their employees, especially the frontliners, to take the vaccine. The transport bubble is equally important in bridging the family and employees to their business bubble,” he said.

As bulk of the vaccines purchased by the private sector from AstraZeneca through an initiative led by Concepcion came from Thailand, he asked Thailand to serve as a regular source of vaccines for the proposed mobility for the vaccinated to be sustainable.

He also proposed the first ASEAN Exchange on COVID-19 where member-countries can share best practices to save both their countries’ lives and livelihood.