MANILA, Philippines — Persons who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 should just stay at home, President Rodrigo Duterte said amid continuous vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos.
“We cannot force you but then sana kung ayaw niyo magpabakuna, wag na kayo lumabas ng bahay para hindi na kayo maghawa ng ibang tao,” Duterte said in a taped speech aired Tuesday.
(We cannot force you but if you don’t want to be vaccinated, don’t go out of your houses so that you will not infect other people.)
Duterte lamented how these people are not helping solve the crisis and are just prolonging the time for the country to achieve herd immunity.
“Maniwala kayo, Diyos ko po, kasi hindi kayo makatulong, you will just lengthen the [time to achieve] herd immunity,” Duterte said.
(Believe us, for God’s sake, because you will not help, you will just lengthen the time for us to achieve herd immunity.)
“Kasi kung ‘kung 30 percent na yan magpasyal pasyal nanaman kung saan saan, it’s not a far-fetched theory that you will infect although in lesser number but still you do not solve the problems of the country,” he added.
(If that 30 percent goes out wherever, it’s not a far-fetched theory that you will infect, although in lesser numbers but still you do not solve the problems of the country.)
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, in the same meeting, said they intend to boost information dissemination to address vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos.
READ: 61% of Pinoys say no to vaccines; safety concerns cited top reason — Pulse Asia
“‘Yang problema ninyo sa takot niyo, problema namin yan. Sinasabi namin, yung problema ninyo sa takot, walang base. Walang namatay sa bakuna, umabot na ng ilang libo, walang namatay na heart attack. Kung meron man, dahil may sakit na talaga,” Duterte said.
(Your problem about your fear is also our problem. Your fear has no basis. No one has died of the vaccine, thousands were already vaccinated, no one died of a heart attack. If any, they already have the illness.)
The Philippines has so far administered three million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.