Kabilang na rin ang Filipino seafarers sa priority recipients ng national vaccination program ng pamahalaan laban sa COVID-19.
Ayon sa Department of Transportation (DOTr), inqprubahan ng Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EUD) ang kanilang rekomendasyon na kilalanin ang mahalagang gampanin ng Filipino seafarers ngayong COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a very good development for our maritime industry champions— our seafarers. Now, our Filipino seafarers will be given priority to be vaccinated,” pahayag ni Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade .
“They work silently, yet their contribution is as crucial as keeping the economy thriving. Not only are they frontliners, but they are undoubtedly heroes, too,” dagdag pa niya.
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Nabatid na mula sa dating B3 (other essential workers) o B5 (overseas Filipino workers) sa vaccination priority framework, hiniling ng Inter-Agency Working Group ng DOTr, na i-reclassify ang mga Filipino seafarers at ilagay sa A4 (frontline personnel in essential sectors, including uniformed personnel and those working in sectors identified by the IATF as essential during ECQ.)
“[T]he prioritization of seafarers in the vaccination is based on the following grounds: Filipino seafarers are declared key workers globally and locally; Filipino seafarers are considered mobile, who, as part of their jobs, frequently enter various ports across the world; and shipping companies prefer their workforce to be vaccinated to ensure that their operations will remain smooth, unhampered, and somehow immune to the severe effects of COVID-19,” anang DOTr.
Ang seafarers ay inuri sa dalawang priority groups.
Ang top priority ay ipagkakaloob sa mga aktibong seafarers o yaong may recorded sea service sa nakalipas na tatlong taon, habang ang mga bagong seafarers naman o yaong ang record ay lampas sa 2018 ay papangalawa.
Anang DOTr, mayroong mahigit sa 730,000 Filipino seafarers na ikinukonsidera para sa A4 category.
