Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 28) — Experts are looking into the possibility of lifting the face mask mandate for fully vaccinated people in select areas, a health official said on Friday, but a number of factors need to be considered first.
The issue was raised by a research group and in the wake of a policy in the United States that dropped the mask rule outdoors, but officials will not follow suit just yet.
“Halimbawa po, magtatanggal tayo ng mga mask dito sa nabakunahan na sa NCR (National Capital Region)… Kailangan po natin tingnan ano na po ba ang estado ng ating mga kaso dito sa NCR. Ang health care utilization rate po ba ay nakakaluwag luwag na tayo? Kailangan din ho nating tingnan ‘yung compliance ng tao sa minimim health protocols,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.
[Translation: For example, we will lift the mask [requirement] for vaccinated people in the NCR, we have to look at the cases in the NCR. Is the healthcare utilization rate manageable? We also have to consider people’s compliance to minimum health protocols.]
OCTA Research fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco said in a TV interview the government should “explore possible ways to begin to relax minimum health standards for those who are fully vaccinated,” citing as an example the U.S. policy.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks outdoors.
“Tayo po ay nagaaral na nitong sinasabing rekomendasyon na ito para makita natin (We are looking into this recommendation to see) if we can apply this in specific bubbles,” Vergeire said when asked about Austriaco’s proposal.
But Vergeire noted that more people were inoculated in the U.S. than the Philippines so the situation may be incomparable.
CDC data showed 40% of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated, but Vergeire said only a percent of the country’s population of over 100 million people got inoculated.
Experts said the vaccine is no guarantee for immunity from COVID-19, and it takes weeks to shore up antibodies with the vaccine.
Dr. Mike Ryan, an expert at the World Health Organization, said early this month that the intensity of COVID-19 transmission in an area and the level of vaccine coverage must be considered by a country that plans to lift its mask mandate.
