Each vaccine brand has different efficacy rates in preventing hospitalization and death. Online articles described statistics about each medicine’s efficacy rates while others mentioned why it’s difficult to compare vaccines. The varying rule of approval of each country’s food and drug agency or their respective health departments/ministries leads to different vaccine requirements for each Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFWs) destination. OFWs will have to deal with vaccine requirements in their work locations. Vaccine efficacies A keyword phrase “Which COVID vaccine is the best” made a spike in search engine searches according to theconversation.com. The results will show you the articles, bar graphs, line graphs, and tables ranking each covid brand from Pfizer and Moderna to Sinovac. People are eager to know if their shots are effective. Gavi.org, a global public and private health organization, defined efficacy and effectiveness. Efficacy refers to the degree to which a vaccine can prevent the disease while effectiveness pertains to how well it performs against new variants. The alliance published this table: Vaccine Protection against all symptomatic disease after 2nd dose Moderna 95% (90% - 97%) Pfizer-BioNTech 94% (90% - 97%) Sinopharm 78% (65% - 86%) AstraZeneca 67% (57% - 74%) Sinovac 51% (36% - 62%) Source: https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/how-effective-are-covid-19-vaccines-real-world The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) also outlined the efficacy rate per brand on their website. Further, Statista, a data analytics site, published this report: Statista vaccine effectiveness chart. WebMD, on the other hand, created a table of comparison including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna. Nikkei Asia reported on December 25, 2020, that Sinovac has shown 91.25% efficacy in Turkey. But on March 3, 2021, the country revised down its efficacy to 83.5% based on the final results of Phase III trials. Vaccine preferences among countries Outbound OFWs or those going back or travelling for work will have to deal with the vaccine preferences of some countries. They have to get a vaccine passport to prove that they have been tested negative and protected against reinfection. Rappler (July 9, 2021) listed a non-exhaustive list of vaccines required by countries with most OFWs. The Visaguide.world listed some of the number of countries that approved a specific vaccine and the number of approved vaccines for each country. Check out this table. You can also check their Vaccine Checker to see if your vaccine is accepted in a specific country. The role of vaccines in easing travel for OFWs Vaccines proved to be effective in reducing the chances of severe symptoms that could land a person in hospital and transmit virus-laden microdroplets to another person. Although, a resurgence of variants may cause uncertainties on vaccine efficacy. Government health agencies and vaccine manufacturers are studying if booster shots can add a layer of protection or dampen the effects of mutations. A US National Institutes for Health published a report that Moderna and Pfizer constitute the best effective Covid boosters. In the Philippines, the government conducted massive vaccinations according to priority groups (front liners, health workers, seniors, people with comorbidities) up to the rest of the population. The country received massive vaccine deliveries in the early 2021. The health department and local government units (LGUs) scheduled people under priority groups (A1 to A5) through online registration. The health authorities moved healthcare OFWs up from the less vaccine priority group (from A4 to A1), and the rest of OFWs from B5 to A4 category. Category Vaccination efforts will use the remaining months of 2021 to administer doses to the general or remaining population. Such vaccination efforts resulted in the easing of restrictions in the country and enabling OFWs to comply with the vaccine requirements of their destination countries. Returning workers require vaccine passports to gain smooth entry into their work destinations. Also, vaccinated returning OFWs (vacationing or retiring) will be at advantage status once they go through checkpoints or quarantine restrictions. Further Helpful References: Where to get a vaccine passport? FAQ about International Certificate of Vaccination Vaccination Passport Philippines: Here’s What To Know Vaccine brand checker Vaccine Checker for Travelling Abroad Vaccine tracker Covid 19 Vaccine Tracker Vaccine rates, approvals and trials per country Vaccine efficacy Mayo Clinic Statista Vaccine brands accepted list EU countries accepting Sinovac Vaccination certificates per country Countries that accept Moderna

DOH to elevate OFWs (both healthcare and non-healthcare workers) to the vaccine priority list. According to the health undersecretary, Ma. Rosario Vergeire at the congress health committee hearing, the healthcare OFWs must be upgraded from A4 to A1 and the rest of the OFWs be moved from B5 to A4 category. Also, the undersecretary echoed the DOH Secretary’s recommendation to IATF to move other OFWs into the A4 category. Here’s the list of priority groups approved by country’s Interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (iNITAG). A1: frontline workers such as health professionals (doctors, nurses, medtech, rad tech, barangay healthcare workers) and non-healthcare professionals. Other frontline workers in essential sectors include security personnel and delivery riders. A2: Senior citizens (aged 60 above). A3: People with comorbidities or having one or more diseases/conditions not otherwise included in the preceding categories. A4: Frontliners working in essential sectors, including uniformed personnel and those in working sectors identified by the IATF as essential during ECQ A5: Indigent population not otherwise included in the preceding categories B1: Teachers, Social workers B2: Other government workers B3: Other workers in the essential group B4: Socio-demographic groups at significantly higher risk other than senior citizens and indigenous people B5: OFWs B6: Other remaining workforce C: This C category refers to the rest of the Filipino population not included in the preceding groups. So far, as of March 29, 2021, a total of 702,362 people have been vaccinated - 4,009 senior citizens and 698,353 healthcare workers.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) established assistance desks for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to aid them with their OFW emergency card (e-card) concerns at the three terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). As per OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, the assistance centers which aim to help OFWs regarding their concerns about the e-card were established in coordination with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The OFW e-card, which was launched in November 2018 serves as a proof of active OWWA membership and provides easy access to welfare services, scholarships, training programs, and social benefits from OWWA. The e-card can be availed for free by all Balik-Manggagawa OFWs with active OWWA membership, valid Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) or Exemption Number, and a valid passport. The e-card also serves as a valid ID which can be used by OFWs for transactions in different government agencies. To apply for an OFW e-card, visit the OWWA website at https://www.owwa.gov.ph/

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are covered by the Republic Act 1123 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) newly signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte. Senator Jose Victor “JV” Ejercito authored and sponsored the UHC law. Under this law, all Filipino citizens, including Overseas Filipino Workers, are automatic members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation which will have coverage of free consultation fees, laboratory tests, and other diagnostic services. The UHC law allows all Filipino citizens to have access to affordable health care. In line with this, the UHC law aims to improve doctor-to-patient ratio, increase hospital bed capacities, and establish more hospitals in remote areas. Other significant reforms that will be implemented in time include designating PhilHealth as the national purchaser for health goods and services for individuals, such as medicines; improvement of health facilities especially in underserved areas; responding to the gap in health workers throughout the country; strategic engagement of the private sector; and creating and expanding new functions in the Department of Health (DOH) to improve the delivery of health services, according to an official statement by the DOH.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and 15 other government agencies already signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the operations of One-Stop Service Center for OFWs (OSSCO). The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the POEA where the labor department has formalized its collaboration with 15 other government agencies in the delivery of services to OFWs. In the Memorandum of Understanding, they plan to put up more OSSCO in the country. Currently, a total of 3.8 million clients have been served by the 19 OSSCOs nationwide. They also plan to make the services available online. A 24/7 hotline has been set up to give guidance for OFWs concerns. Back in August 2016, where OSSCO was launched at the POEA in Mandaluyong City, government frontline services are made accessible to Filipinos who are planning to work overseas. It operates from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Mondays to Fridays. Through OSSCO, OFWs will no longer need to visit different government agency to process documents when applying for work abroad. It did not only shorten the processing time of documents but it also reduces their transportation expenses. The government agencies in collaboration for the OSCCO are Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Maritime lndustry Authority (MARINA), Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), Philippine Health lnsurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Bureau of Immigration (BI), National Bureau lnvestigation (NBI), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Tourism lnfrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Bureau of lnternal Revenue (BIR). Image Attribution:Business card photo created by jcomp - www.freepik.com