A party-list lawmaker said returning Filipinos who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) here or abroad should be exempted from the mandatory quarantine when they arrive in the country.
ACT-CIS Partylist Representative Rowena Niña Taduran said the mandatory seven-day quarantine in a government-approved facility would only burden the arriving fully vaccinated Filipinos, who have a very low risk of contracting and spreading the virus.
“Most of the returning Filipinos have a limited time of staying here and are already cash-strapped.”
“Most of the returning Filipinos have a limited time of staying here and are already cash-strapped. All they want is to be with their families for a longer time and spend whatever money they have for pasalubong or other necessities,” Taduran stressed.
The legislator urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Department of Health to reconsider the requisite quarantine, especially if the returning Filipino has been fully vaccinated by a COVID-19 vaccine approved by the World Health Organization, and has no symptoms of the virus upon their return to the country.
“Fully vaccinated people are less likely to have an asymptomatic infection and transmit the virus.”
Citing a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the lawmaker said fully vaccinated people, specifically with an mRNA vaccine, are less likely to have an asymptomatic infection and transmit the virus.
Those who have been vaccinated with other types, she noted, have been proven to lower their risk of severe illness due to COVID-19.
“Some European countries and the USA have eased their travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people. Why are we making it difficult for our own countrymen,” she concluded.
