Areas in Metro Manila with high vaccination rates can be turned into “bakuna bubbles” where residents can move freely and enter establishments, according to the Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship.
In a news statement issued on Thursday, Presidential Adviser and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said this may be able to help the National Capital Region (NCR) and, eventually, the country to coexist with Covid-19.
However, inside these bakuna bubbles, unvaccinated residents will be required to present a negative antigen or RT-PCR test before entering high-risk establishments such as restaurants, salons, coffee shops, gyms, etc.
“This is a reasonable consideration for us to constrict the mobility of the unvaccinated, as the only thing we want is to protect them and save their lives at all costs,” said Concepcion.
He added that the presence of the Delta variant is a game changer and requires more Filipinos to get vaccinated.
Concepcion said many of the country’s health workers who got infected after vaccination did not require hospitalization. This in itself is a clear benefit of vaccination.
“The presence of the Delta variant has changed the game, but the key objectives of vaccines—preventing hospitalization, deaths, and transmission—remain the same. Those fully vaccinated have a slimmer chance of contracting severe infections and that is for certain,” he stressed.
Concepcion pointed out data from the Makati Medical Center showed that the majority of its Covid-19 patients are unvaccinated.
The Presidential Adviser added that at the Philippine General Hospital, around 199 of the total 280 Covid-19 patients as of August 26 are also unvaccinated.
He also said transport groups have expressed their support to the bakuna bubbles proposal by offering to field special buses for the purpose, thereby preserving the integrity of the bubble’s safety.
Concepcion stressed that bakuna bubbles can also contribute to the vaccination rate in the country and allow the economy to reopen safely.
“Aside from achieving a hundred percent of our family members or employees in business, each bubble should have its own strict health and safety protocols to enforce, which should include Covid-19 testing after each household member or employee leaves their own ‘bubble’ to go out to see other people,” Concepcion said.
Earlier, Concepcion pitched the deployment of buses for fully vaccinated passengers in Metro Manila to establish a “bubble” for the public transportation system.
The proposal could aid the working population’s safe mobility amid the pandemic.
Concepcion said that building a “bubble” in the workplace has been a trend amid the vaccination program rollout.
The proposal is in line with Concepcion’s call for micro-herd immunity, which refers to a close system that achieved 80 percent vaccination rollout already.
Micro-herd immunity, he said, can help the economy recover safely because it will allow more mobility.
Concepcion previously explained that promoting herd immunity in a smaller and controlled environment is feasible because they have implemented health protocols already. It includes offices, factories and commercial spaces.