ILOILO City – Beginning Jan. 17, 2022 city government employees and clients that have not received booster shots of the vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) would be barred from entering city hall.
Department heads and heads of offices were told to advice their fully vaccinated personnel to get their booster shots before Jan. 17.
Employees fully vaccinated by September 2021 but have not received booster shots will not be allowed to report to work, stressed Office Order No. OCA-2021-065 issued yesterday by City Administrator Melchor Tan.
On the other hand, city government clients with transactions at city hall will be required to present their COVID-19 Booster Cards at the building’s entrance.
Mayor Jerry Treñas said city hall employees who fail to get booster shots before Jan. 17 may be allowed to be on a work-from-home arrangement.
He stressed the importance of having booster shots, citing the threat of Omicron variant of COVID-19. Yesterday, the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the country’s fourth Omicron case – a 38 year-old traveler from the United States.
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been called a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) based on the evidence that it is spreading more quickly than other variants.
Based on the information available, WHO believes it is likely that Omicron will outpace the Delta variant where there is COVID-19 transmission in the community.
Treñas said the city government will offer booster shots to anyone from across Western Visayas already fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if there is enough available vaccines.
Except for AstraZeneca, all the COVID-19 vaccines available here – Sinovac, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson – were supplied by the national government.
The city government would like to share them to the people of Western Visayas who are ready and qualified for booster shots, according to Mayor Jerry Treñas.
The AstraZeneca vaccines here, on the other hand, were procured by the city government.
In an advisory, DOH announced that the Food and Drug Administration had approved a shorter waiting time for booster shots. These could now be availed of by fully vaccinated people three months after their last dose.
“Let’s all get our booster shots. The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus is affecting the United States of America and Europe. Let us get as much protection as possible when it is already allowed,” said Treñas.
Researchers are looking into any potential impact the Omicron variant has on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. Information is still limited, but there may be a small reduction in the effectiveness of vaccines against severe illness and death, and a decline in preventing mild disease and infection. However, WHO reports that so far it looks like the currently available vaccines offer significant protection against severe disease and death./PN
