Doctors deployed to unvaccinated to explain efficacy of vaccines —ULAP president

Medical doctors are being deployed to unvaccinated people in provinces to explain the benefits of getting vaccinated against COVID-19, an official of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) said Sunday. 

Interviewed on dzBB, ULAP president and Quirino Governor Dakila Cua pointed out that barangay captains were identifying those who still refuse to get vaccinated in their respective jurisdictions but noted the difficulty in convincing some of the unvaccinated to get inoculated.

"Sila (barangay captains) talaga ang sumusuyod. Alam nila kung sino-sino (ang 'di pa bakunado) at na-i-re-report naman sa atin. Ang hirap pilitin. Hindi puwedeng i-force 'yung bakuna sa ating mga kababayan," said Cua.

(Village chiefs are the ones identifying the unvaccinated. They know who they are and they report it to us. It is hard to convince them [to get vaccinated]. We cannot force the vaccines to our constituents.)

He said some individuals are hesitant to get inoculated because of their religious beliefs.

"May certain percent of population na hindi komportable magpabakuna  whether it is for religious reasons or medical reasons. 'Yun 'yung generic nilang binibigay na dahilan," said Cua.

(There is a certain percent of population who are uncomfortable to get vaccinated whether it is religious reasons or medical reasons.)

To address these issues on the unvaccinated, Cua said some local government units send doctors to unvaccinated communities to try to explain that vaccines can prevent severe infection against COVID-19.

"Pero at least na-i-identify kung sino-sino ito ang strategy natin. Pinapapunta ang doctor sa malalayong lugar para doktor ang magpaliwanag... Puwede sila magtanong, puwedeng malaman ang updates sa bakuna at effectivity nito," said Cua.

(At least the unvaccinated are being identified. We send doctors to far-flung areas to explain to them. The unvaccinated can ask about the vaccines and its effectivity.)

Local government units have started initiating strategies to restrict the movement of unvaccinated people upon the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte.

As of Saturday, the Philippines once again hit an all-time high daily COVID-19 cases with 39,004 fresh infections. This brought the country's total case tally to 3,168,379 including 2,834,708 recoveries and 52,858 deaths. —KG, GMA News