PASIG CITY, (PIA) -- The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) accommodated the request of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) to get their players, coaches, and staff vaccinated.

Basketball players are classified as economic frontliners and are included in the A4 category of the country’s vaccination priority list, said MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos.

“The PBA is one of the industries in the country struggling to cope with COVID-19. About 1,200 workers in the industry have been affected by the pandemic,” said Abalos.

The PBA, the second oldest professional basketball league existing in the world after the National Basketball Association, has been an integral part of Filipino culture, he added.

Under the A4 group in the COVID-19 vaccination program, private sector workers required to be physically present at their designated workplace outside their residences are eligible for vaccination.

Abalos said basketball players and athletes can be influencers who can help the government in raising public awareness about the benefits of the vaccine and educate the public on the elimination of vaccine preferences.

The MMDA also proposed that players undergo antigen testing before their practices, if and when the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) finally allows the conduct of such.

Meanwhile, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said the league is set to conduct its own vaccination drive soon. He also vowed to donate vaccines to the government once the vaccines they have purchased arrived.

The PBA's Board of Governors also thanked the MMDA for their assistance and accommodation in getting their COVID-19 shots. (MMDA/PIA-NCR)