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The first anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdown is upon us. It’s an anniversary that doesn’t inspire any celebration. But it should prod us towards introspection and assessment.

One year into the virus lockdown, it may be wise now for the Philippines to prepare an exit plan that is both backed by our scientists and economic planners. The entire nation cannot be forever under a lockdown regime, especially with the arrival of vaccines in our shores.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III was quoted last week as saying that “aside from our health-care workers, we will prioritize vaccinating our economic front-line workforce.” Sec. Dominguez, who heads President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic team, also reported that they are fast-tracking the rollout of the country’s vaccination program noting that “the doses we are acquiring are more than enough to inoculate 100 percent of the country’s adult population (70 million people out of our total population of 110 million people).”