MANILA (UPDATE) - The Philippines on Thursday began its third round of "national vaccination days" (NVDs) in a bid to ramp up the number of individuals protected against COVID-19.

The third Bayanihan Bakunahan program from Thursday to Friday aims to vaccinate some 5 million more Filipinos, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said.

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In Quezon City Hall, pre-registered individuals age 12 and above are eligible for first dose, second dose, or a booster shot.

Employers are "highly encouraged" to allow their workers to accompany their children during the NVDs without considering them absent provided they present proof of their child's inoculation, the Department of Labor and Employment said.

"The concerned employees may likewise be allowed to utilize their available leave credits to cover their absence during the NVD, subject to company policy or collective bargaining agreement," it added.

REOPENING BORDERS

Meantime, some 317,892 tourism workers have been vaccinated as the country reopened its borders to fully inoculated foreign travelers, Department of Tourism said.

All or 100 percent of tourism workers in El Nido, Puerto Princesa, Coron, Baguio City, Aurora, San Vicente, Mandaue, and Camiguin are fully vaccinated, according to Virgilio Maguigad, DOT director for tourism standards and regulation.

The agency has also given safety seals to 1,582 establishments, majority of which are in Metro Manila, Western Visayas and Calabarzon, Maguigad added.

"All these programs--safety seal, vaccination--and all those confidence-building activities would hopefully help us restart our tourism industry not only for domestic tourism but also for inbound (foreign travelers)," he said in a public forum.

The World Health Organization is looking into developing 3 types of vaccines including one that covers all coronaviruses, t-cell epitope vaccine, and mucosal vaccine, said Dr. Nina Gloriani, head of the vaccine expert panel.

"So far ngayon (currently) the vaccines we have protect against diseases meaning moderate or severe. They have very little protection against infection. The mucosal vaccine should be able to deal with that," she said.

The Philippines has so far fully vaccinated 59.9 million individuals, while 60.7 million others have received an initial dose, and 8 million booster shots have been administered, as of Feb. 4.

--With reports from Nico Bagsic and Gillan Ropero, ABS-CBN News

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