Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero said government authorities must step up their campaign to persuade unvaccinated individuals to get the life-saving COVID-19 vaccines to protect themselves and their families instead of forcing them to do so, since there is no law-making vaccination mandatory in the country.
Escudero explained that until now all the vaccines available in the Philippines are still under the emergency use authorization (EUA) with the Food and Drug Administration, and as such cannot be used to compel people to get the much-needed jab.
“These vaccines are still EUA, meaning their clinical trials are still ongoing to enable the state to make vaccination mandatory,” Escudero said, who is running for the Senate in the May Election. “Once these vaccines have passed all scrutiny and studies, that’s the only time the state can make it part of its public health policy which can be enforced through the police power of the state.”
In the absence of the vaccine mandate, the former senator said, efforts must now focus on how to encourage unvaccinated individuals, as well as how to reach the rest of the target population who have yet to be inoculated.
“Let us talk to the them and convince the unvaccinated to get vaccinated instead of forcing them to do so. Ang maganda ay makumbinsihan tayo sa bisa at proteksyon na ibinibigay na bakuna, at huwag magpilitan o magtakutan,” said Escudero, who is fully vaccinated and boosted.
“I am all for vaccination and we should all exert effort to convince people to get vaccinated,” he added.
Latest data from the Department of Health showed that 55.6 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated, as of January 18, while a little over 5 million their booster shots.
The surge in coronavirus infection due to Omicron variant, particularly in Metro Manila, has prompted the authorities in charge of COVID-19 response to place the National Capital Region under Level 3 and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to implement the “no vaccination, no ride” policy on public transport and impose penalties on drivers and operators of public utility vehicles who would be found carrying unvaccinated passengers.
The DOTR public transport ban should be recalled, according to Escudero, because it is discriminatory and lacks legal basis. The Department of Labor and Employment has said the “no vaccination, no ride” directive of the DOTR is not absolute and does not cover workers travelling to and from their place of work.