COVID-19 is here to stay. That’s what Dr. Tony Leachon, former special adviser to the National Task Force on Covid-19, said in a webinar with members of the Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA) on Tuesday. As such, we will need to get vaccinated or get booster shots every year against the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease.
He told hoteliers, “I think you need to budget every year for a booster dose because the virus will be with us forever. I mean, just like the flu the virus will keep on coming. A hundred years ago, the Spanish flu killed around 50 million. This will happen again.” It’s important that companies prioritize the health of their employees.
Hopefully, these vaccines will become widely available when pharmaceutical companies seek full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. “That’s the time for the private sector to directly order from [pharmaceutical companies] without going through the government,” he added.
As these vaccines are currently approved for emergency use only, the private sector has had to partner with the national government for them to able to import these, donating even some of their share for public use. As of June 28, the Philippines has imported some 17.5 million of vaccines, with Sinovac accounting for 68.8 percent of total, as per the Philippines Vaccine Tracker.
‘MIX AND MATCH’
IT was a very informative webinar which drew over 400 participants. After all, the tourism sector has been badly hit by Covid-19 due to travel restrictions here and abroad, and most of the hotels that remain open, especially those in Metro Manila, are hanging on by catering to quarantining guests.
It was only fairly recent that a few hotels were allowed to accept social events and business meetings, while most people still prefer to order their food for delivery instead of dining in the food and beverage outlets of a hotel.
Another interesting point that Leachon raised was that booster shots will likely be needed for those who have been vaccinated with the China vaccine, Sinovac. The booster shots can be given six months after the individual has received his second Sinovac dose.
He was also in favor of “mixing and matching” vaccines, as they are currently doing in Germany and Canada. “German Chancellor Angela Merkel started with the AstraZeneca and then the Moderna. In Canada, they started with the Astra and their second dose is now Pfizer. The G7 countries are already doing this, so why can’t we,” he asserted.
SEAL OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
I ASKED PHOA President Arthur Lopez if he thought the hoteliers would follow Leachon’s suggestion of allocating an annual budget for Covid booster shots for their employees. “I think they will if it is for the survival of the business,” he said.
Veteran hotelier Jose Mari del Rosario, president of Phinma Microtel, told me many will likely do it. “Yes, it’s a good program. This will further assure guests that our hotels are a safe haven [and] hotels are pro-active. We already do it for flu vaccines shots anyway.”
He added, “For me, it’s like a Seal of Good Housekeeping. It’s very much aligned to the health/safety mindset that our industry has taken, and which has gained traction without much prodding. Even before the DOT [Department of Tourism] made it mandatory, responsible owners were already doing it.”
As for funding booster shots of employees who received Sinovac, del Rosario is taking a more prudent approach. “We’ll probably wait for further conclusive studies.”
Leachon warned that the onset of the rainy season will be particularly difficult for the country as people will not be able to practice physical distancing as they squeeze in together under sheds, which could set off the more virulent Delta variant of the virus. The Department of Health has already recorded 17 cases of the Delta variant.
NO OUTBREAKS DUE TO TOURISM
HE praised the hotel industry for partnering with the government and doing its share in strictly implementing health and sanitation protocols in their properties to prevent any Covid-19 infections. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat herself recently asserted that there has been no recorded case of Covid outbreaks because of tourism.
The good secretary has been pushing for the opening of more travel destinations, and so far Baguio, Panglao Island in Bohol, El Nido in Palawan, and Boracay Island in Aklan are among the major destinations that are accepting tourists from Metro Manila, even if it is still under general community quarantine. She also moved to subsidize 50 percent of the cost of RT-PCR tests for domestic travelers.
According to an internal survey of PHOA, there is a very high “vaccination confidence” rate among the employees of its member-hotels, ranging from 91.3 percent to 97 percent as of June this year. As of June 25, many of its member-hotels have already reached at least 51 percent vaccination of its employees.
Noting the vaccine confidence of the tourism industry in general, Leachon said, “That’s very good. Because if you’re protected by the vaccine, then you can work. That’s the secret of the US and Israel, that’s why they have been able to ditch the face mask already.”
However, unless government gets it act together and sync with the vision of the business sector, I think we will continue to remain in this Covid rut. True enough, even Leachon sees the country achieving the so-called herd immunity only by December 2022, unless vaccination speeds up. Tiis-tiis na lang, people.