NATIONAL Task Force against Covid-19 chief Carlito Galvez Jr. agreed to review the possibility of putting national athletes and coaches high on the priority list of individuals who will receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
Senate Committee on Youth and Sports and Health chair Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go told BusinessMirror that he appealed on Monday to Galvez to also prioritize the athletes and coaches particularly those who are bound for the Tokyo Olympics in July and the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in November.
“As chair of both health and sports committees, I appealed to our Vaccine Czar, Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. to include in the priority list for Covid-19 vaccination our athletes and other delegates who will be competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, both this year,” Go said.
“Secretary Galvez responded positively to this appeal and they are currently studying how our competing athletes could be prioritized without prejudice to other sectors that have already been identified as top priority for vaccination such as frontliners and those belonging in poor and vulnerable sectors,” he added.
Go said that the Filipino athletes deserve all the protection during the pandemic because they represent the country in overseas competitions.
“They carry our flag to bring home glory. And in the 2019 SEA Games hosted by our country, the Philippines became the overall champion,” Go said. “Our government, the private sector and ordinary Filipinos united as one for our athletes.”
There are only 996 national athletes, 262 coaches, 280 para athletes and 82 para coaches in the roster of the Philippine Sports Commission.
Galvez earlier said that number of athletes and coaches is “small” but stressed he needs the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases before prioritizing the sports sector.