Gov QuaranTips

What a relief for this government to finally come to its senses on the face shield issue.

After more than a year of suffering the stupidity of men pretending to be listening to science while remaining beholden to wheeler-dealers, we are now (almost) free from the environmental and practical disaster that is the plastic face shield. The president has decreed that it will be done away with, and we await the IATF’s implementation of the directive (hopefully, the implementing guidelines will hearken to reason, and not merely regurgitate those ridiculous rules in some other tortured version).

This welcome news, of course, comes after we have already enriched the greedy businessmen surrounding the decision makers. But, let’s not dwell on the negative, it’s a promising start! Is this a sign that the men in power are finally listening to the grumbles of the oppressed, and backtracking in tiny, tiny steps to appease the ominous signs of popular anger?

What an upcoming election year can do.

Well, some more tips for the ruling class might come in handy. For example, the sensible proposal of opening up establishments to the vaccinated. That might be a good starting point. Especially since we are seeing that implemented in developed countries.

We see the kernel of this idea in the decision to open up 10% of indoor restaurant dining capacity to those with vaccination cards. This attempt to balance the health protections needed by serving staff and customers with the economic urgencies of small businesses already at the brink of failure may be a precursor. Yes, allow businesses to open, but limit their clientele to those with “sufficient” protection from exposure (let’s not debate whether this protection is foolproof, because we all know about breakthrough infections).

This exemption could be deployed to similar scenarios where people are allowed inside other indoor spaces, such as schools and convention centers. That way, we allow the economy more room to grow, with the consequent increase in expenditures in these establishments as well as in ancillary activities, such as transportation and dining.

In turn, traveling could be made easier with just the production of vaccination cards, as espoused by Cebu Pacific. The airline has been vocal about easing requirements for flying passengers to drive up air traffic. Doing away with the RT-PCR tests for the vaccinated could be a solution --provided the vaccination cards can be forgery-proofed.

That’s what’s dangerous about the proposal of another government flunky, which consists of requiring all those with vaccination cards to wear them on their necks on a lanyard. I can’t figure out what century these ideas come from. Unless he’s fronting a plastic manufacturer that will produce the necessary clear plastic to encase the paper cards we have been issued? Oh, the millions that can be generated for plastic manufacturers if this idea is adopted! And the further damage to our environment this idea will cause! So much fun in the Philippines, indeed.

With all due respect (which doesn’t actually count for very much), wouldn’t it be more sensible to figure out how to centralize the vaccination efforts that have been undertaken by hundreds of cities, municipalities and private companies, and then have the issuance of vaccine cards retrofitted with tamper-proof controls?

Once we have a vaccination card that is complete not just with dates of vaccination and brands of vaccine injected, but also “expiry” dates, or periods when the antibodies are predicted to have decreased to merit the jabbing of booster shots, then we can retool the vaccination card to allow for, perhaps, time-sensitive access to indoor establishments or transportation facilities, or even schools and churches. Maybe, if we dream long and hard enough, even in cinemas and coliseums. A much better idea than more plastic and lanyards, right?

And while we’re at it, dear government officials, please deploy all those test kits you have purchased with our tax money, and which are in danger of expiring. The news reports that hundreds of millions of our cash went to waste in expired test kits break not just hearts. They may have killed lives.

Please just test, test, and test. Treat the ill. Vaccinate those who aren’t. Ease the pain of those still living. And let’s just get out of this nightmare.