Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion yesterday said the feared waning immunity of Filipinos against the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) should be addressed through higher booster takeup to avoid lockdown by the second half of the year.
Another lockdown, he said, would derail the momentum of business recovery.
Concepcion told the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday the Philippines could be in a precarious situation by the second semester if it does not reach at least 70 to 80 percent level of booster coverage.
He said lowering or removing alert levels by April 1 is ill-advised as the country’s booster level remains low, only 30 percent in the National Capital Region, and below 10 percent from Regions 5 to 12.
“This is worrisome. It’s dangerous to open (lower to Alert Level 0) or remove the alert level until we resolve this because there is that possibility of another surge,” Concepcion said.
He said the country still has two and a half months to step up vaccinations as the effectiveness of primary doses lasts about five to six months.
Concepcion said money to be spent for buying a new batch of vaccines will only go to waste if people will not avail of the jabs, especially with a huge debt to pay off.
“We should focus our energy in areas where booster remains very low. Our wall of immunity should be strong (to avoid) a possible surge in the second half,” he said.
Concepcion noted the need to strengthen the micro and small businesses especially with the Ukraine and Russia crisis causing oil price increases that hurt operations.
“If we lock down anew in the second half, this will destroy the momentum of businesses which are just starting to recover. We cannot close again, we cannot afford another lockdown now that employees are coming back, companies are hiring people and banks are lending anew. If we lock down and businesses will (close or reduce operations), there will be low revenues which will destroy the economy,” Concepcion said.
He added the private sector is willing to help in procuring vaccines for its employees if a second booster dose is necessary.
“We have enough until June to cover for that,” he said.
