MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is now willing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in public in a bid to boost Filipinos’ vaccine confidence, Malacañang said Monday.
“Well I think the President has said that he will now have himself vaccinated publicly,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online briefing.
“He only has to announce when it will be done and that’s of course in recognition of the fact na nagaantay ng senyales ang taumbayan kung sila’y magpapabakuna o hindi. That is a policy that we will now pursue,” he added.
“Ninanais po ni Presidente na ang lahat ng Pilipino ay magkaroon ng kumpiyansa magpabakuna dahil ang bakuna po ang solusyon dito sa pandemya ng Covid-19.”
(The President wants that all Filipinos have confidence to be vaccinated because this is the solution to the Covid-19 pandemic.)
(REUTERS/Shwe Paw Mya Tin)
Last month, Roque said Duterte’s decision to be vaccinated in private was already “final” since he will receive this in his buttocks.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque. File photo from PTV video
Prior to that announcement, Duterte said he was willing to be the first one to be injected with the coronavirus vaccine to prove its efficacy and safety.
A recent Pulse Asia survey showed that almost half or 47 percent of Filipinos do not want to be vaccinated against Covid-19 due to safety concerns.
As several lawmakers and mayors have expressed willingness to be vaccinated, Roque noted that this is only to boost public confidence and not because they are “VIPs.”
“Ang aking ineemphasize lang, wag naman po kapag nauna ang mga namumuno, sasabihing VIP nanaman,” Roque said.
(I’m emphasizing that if officials go first, don’t accuse them of being given VIP treatment.)
“Gagawin lang po natin yan dahil nga kinakailangan, mapataas natin yung kumpiyansa ng ating mga kababayan na magpabakuna, hindi po dahil sila ay VIP,” he added.
(We will only do this because it’s needed that we increase the public’s confidence in getting vaccinated, not because they are VIPs.)