FILE – The local government of Parañaque City rolls out the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for health workers, senior citizens and persons with comorbidities at a mall in Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City.
MANILA, Philippines—Anyone who refuses to take a particular brand of COVID-19 vaccine will have to line up again, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara said.
Guevarra said the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) clarified that people getting inoculations wouldn’t be totally clueless about the vaccine they are getting.
“Everyone will be properly informed at the site of the actual vaccine to be administered before he/she is made to sign the corresponding consent form,” Guevarra said.
He said if an individual believes a different type of vaccine would be better suited to his or her condition, the person is not required to take the vaccine.
“If he or she declines to take the available vaccine, he or she will have to line up anew and take his or her chance again at some later time,” Guevarra said.
Before getting vaccinated, people need confirmation from the government where they’re registered. Once the person gets the confirmation, he or she heads over to the vaccination site and waits in line. The person must line up for counseling and their vital signs before signing the consent form—the process could take at least one to two hours.
“That is why the DOH has repeatedly stated that all available vaccines are efficacious and that it is significantly better to get vaccinated than to wait and remain unprotected,” Guevarra said.
Pfizer’s queues were longer than Sinovac’s, prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to ask local government units not to reveal to the public their vaccine brand.
READ: Duterte firm: Don’t disclose COVID-19 vaccine brand
Guevarra said if people would line up or wait for a preferred brand, the stocks for a less preferred brand could go to waste.