Wilcon Depot Inc.'s SEVP And COO Rosemarie B. Ong Encourages Filipinos To Get Vaccinated

As the SEVP and COO of Wilcon Depot Inc. and the president of the Philippine Retailers Association, Rosemarie B. Ong has born witness to the struggles of employees, business leaders, and entrepreneurs alike in the industry.

Within her company itself, so many individuals and their families have paid the price of a health crisis that has overextended its stay. One way she sees her company, and truly all Filipinos everywhere, recovering from the economic, personal, and even psychological and emotional losses incurred from this time is push through with any and all plans of getting vaccinated. 

By seeking out reliable information from verified sources and turning away from hearsay and and non-medical advice, Filipinos will find that available COVID-19 vaccines are, indeed, safe and the best solution to surpassing many if not all of the challenges brought by the pandemic. 

Though there still exists fear and uncertainty about COVID-19 vaccines, Rosemarie encourages everyone to trust in medical experts for the good of the country and ultimately, the world. 

She speaks on behalf of all retail workers across several industries that have put their lives at risk for fellow Filipinos. With many of them working non-stop since the height of pandemic worries in 2020 despite not being vaccinated, it has now reached a point where they must be protected by the Filipino people by their choice to get vaccinated. 

As more and more Filipinos get vaccinated, Rosemarie looks forward to our society returning to normal, much like many parts of the world are currently working to achieve. The Philippines must not be left behind, for the sake of retail workers and all other employees with families to care for, lives to live, and pre-COVID goals and dreams to be returned to. 

She says, "The Philippine Retailers Association (PRA), the national PRA organization of retailers, shopping centers and suppliers, supports the government's call urging our citizens to go and get vaccinated against COVID-19."

"Our efforts to rebuild our economy and the livelihood of our people depend on our people having the confidence to live in the new normal knowing that they are safe and secure. The sooner we get herd immunity [through] having at least 70% of our people vaccinated, the sooner we will be able to return to normalcy. Let not our fears of the unknown cripple us into inaction," she continues. 

As of this writing, the Philippines has recorded 1,190,000 cases with 1,130,000 recoveries and 20,169 deaths. 

The Philippines currently faces many hurdles in vaccinating the population. Currently, 1.7 billion vaccine doses have been given. This number accounts for less than 1% percent of the country's population that has been fully vaccinated (i.e.: received two vaccine doses). 

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