Overseas Filipino Workers are among the groups of Filipinos who will be given priority to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) once it is available in the Philippines.

The list from the Department of Health shows that the first priority will be frontline health workers, with numbers estimated at 1.7 million in the Philippines, while OFWs are on the 10th spot.

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Of this number, 612,975 are from public and private health facilities, 602,982 are public health workers and LGU contact tracers, 414,640 are Barangay Health Workers, and the remaining 132,397 are other NGAs including the DSWD, DepEd, DILG, BJMP and the Bureau of Corrections.

Here are the rest of the priority eligible groups:

2nd priority: Indigent Senior Citizens: 3,789,874
3rd priority: Remaining Senior Citizens: 5,678,544
4th priority: Remaining Indigent Population: 12,911,193
5th priority: Uniformed Personnel (PNP, AFP, PCG, BFP, CAFGU): 525,523

These numbers on the top five of the list total to 24,668,128 Filipinos.

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Next on the list are the following:

6th priority: Teachers and school workers (public and private)
7th priority: All government workers (National and Local Government)
8th priority: Essential workers in agriculture, food industry, transportation and tourism
9th priority: Sociodemographic groups at significantly higher risk other than the senior citizens and indigent population (PDLs, PWDs, Filipinos living in high-density areas)
10th priority: Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)
11th Priority: Other remaining workforce
12th priority: Students

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire stated that an executive order from President Rodrigo Duterte to grant emergency use powers for the country’s Food and Drug Administration is required to speed up the approval and arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines.

“Kaya po, hinihingi natin sa Presidente na bigyan ng authority ang FDA na magkaroon nito dahil sa mga batas natin, hindi tayo maaari na makapagbigay nito,” said Vergeire who explained that Repulic Act 9711 or the FDA act doesn’t cover the mandate for the regulatory body to give the emergency use authority for vaccines, even amid the ongoing pandemic.