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Prioritize country’s workforce in vaccination roll-out: To revive the economy, Sen. Richard Gordon says the country’s 39.8 million work force, aside from the frontliners, should be given priority in the country’s vaccination program. Gordon, during a hybrid Committee of the Whole hearing Monday, January 11, 2021, said essential workers such as those in the manufacturing, tourism and transportation sectors should be inoculated first and be given a sort of “badge” to show that they have already been vaccinated. The senator also asked why the country lagged behind Singapore and Indonesia in the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccines. Sec. Vince Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), said essential workers are actually prioritized in the vaccination program, along with those in the agriculture and food sectors and in areas where the incidence of COVID-19 cases is high. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)