Health workers' families to join A1 once jabs are available

MANILA — The inter-agency task force leading the country's COVID-19 response said on Friday it included Filipino workers bound for overseas deployment in the top priority group in the coronavirus vaccination drive.

The IATF moved to Priority Group A1 the "outbound overseas Filipino workers for deployment within the next four months from the intended date of vaccination," said task force and Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque.

Millions of OFWs are breadwinners who regularly send money back home. The remittances serve as lifeline to the Philippine economy.

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The A1 priority group was previously limited to the country's 1.7 million healthcare workers.

"Immediate family members" of health workers will be included in A1 "once vaccine supply becomes available," Roque said in a statement.

The health department earlier this week said at least 85 percent of medical frontliners have been vaccinated.

The Philippines has taken delivery of some 8.279 million COVID-19 shots. Authorities have administered at least 4.495 million of these doses nationwide, as of May 25.

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