MANILA (BLOOMBERG) - The Philippines will start vaccinating frontline workers in key industries, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said, as the nation expects the delivery of more jabs against coronavirus in the coming weeks.

The coronavirus task force approved the vaccine deployment plan for priority group A4, which includes frontline workers in supermarkets, food and medicine manufacturers, banks, utilities and tourism, Mr Roque said in a statement on Friday (April 16).

Also under this group are religious leaders, overseas Filipino workers, teachers, government workers, tax collectors, diplomats and media personnel, he said.

Previously, only health workers, people aged at least 60 years old, and those with comorbidities were inoculated. Vaccinating key industry workers is part of the government's plan to safely reopen more sectors of the economy amid a new surge in cases.

The Philippines, which has the most number of active Covid-19 cases in South-east Asia, targets to vaccinate up to 70 million Filipinos and seeks to buy as many as 170 million doses. It's expecting the delivery of 1 million more Sinovac vaccines in April and another 2 million in May.