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How Do COVID-19 Vaccine Policies Affect the Young Working Class in the Philippines?

Author

Listed:
  • Rey Hikaru Y. Estoce

    (St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine—William H. Quasha Memorial, Quezon City 1112, Philippines)

  • Olivia M. Y. Ngan

    (Medical Ethics and Humanities Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
    Centre for Medical Ethics and Law, Faculty of Law and LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Pacifico Eric E. Calderon

    (St. Luke’s Medical Center College of Medicine—William H. Quasha Memorial, Quezon City 1112, Philippines
    Clinical Ethics Services, St. Luke’s Medical Center, St. Luke’s Medical Center—Quezon City and Global City, Metro Manila 1634, Philippines)

Abstract

Dubbed the “inequality virus”, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has unveiled and magnified many of the global society’s long-standing inequalities and health inequities. This work brings together the phenomena of increased inequality and health inequities felt by the poor and young working class of the Philippines and how they interact negatively with existing vaccine policies. The poor and the young were more likely to have experienced employment disruptions with limited access to technologies that allowed for teleworking. Informal economy workers suffered from diminished labor protection and draconian lockdowns. Disadvantaged areas persistently dealt with limited health resources, and the working class was disproportionately vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. Utilitarian vaccine policies such as mandatory vaccination and the prioritization scheme negatively interacted with these COVID-induced inequalities and health inequities. While the young working class was more likely to be unemployed, mandatory vaccine policy required that they get vaccinated before seeking re-employment. However, the prioritization scheme adopted by the government failed to target them as a priority. This left them in a vulnerable state of prolonged unemployment while on standby for better supply and improved infrastructure for vaccine rollout. Future prospects in terms of economic recovery and health equity will be affected by issues such as potential increased taxation, the rapidly digitalizing labor market that is evolving to favor highly-skilled workers, and the staging of universal healthcare in the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Rey Hikaru Y. Estoce & Olivia M. Y. Ngan & Pacifico Eric E. Calderon, 2023. "How Do COVID-19 Vaccine Policies Affect the Young Working Class in the Philippines?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-8, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:3:p:2593-:d:1053265
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thomas Hale & Noam Angrist & Rafael Goldszmidt & Beatriz Kira & Anna Petherick & Toby Phillips & Samuel Webster & Emily Cameron-Blake & Laura Hallas & Saptarshi Majumdar & Helen Tatlow, 2021. "A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker)," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(4), pages 529-538, April.
    2. Danica Ortiz & Michael Abrigo, 2017. "The Triple Burden of Disease," Working Papers id:12073, eSocialSciences.
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