Residents queue to receive their second dose of AstraZeneca at a vaccination site inside a mall in Parañaque City. (File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The government’s pandemic task force is not encouraging walk-ins at COVID-19 vaccination sites. Instead, it’s pushing local governments to implement substitution lists, according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, co-chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
The IATF, the COVID-19 policy-making body, was “tentative” on its stand on walk-ins in vaccinations since it could “invite a crowd” at vaccination sites lead to superspreader events, Nograles in an interview over One News’ “The Chiefs” on Tuesday night.
Local governments are instead told to prepare a substitution list in case recipients of the vaccine cannot make it in their scheduled vaccination. Nograles said that substitution lists would allow authorities to control the number of people going to vaccination sites as opposed to walk-ins.
“Our advice to LGUs is to prepare a substitution list,” Nograles said.
He issued the remark after Manila once again allowed walk-ins at vaccination sites after Mayor Isko Moreno saw a low turnout of vaccine recipients when it implemented a “no walk-in” policy.
READ: Manila allows walk-ins in vaccination sites anew after low turnout
READ: No more COVID-19 vaccination walk-ins in the City of Manila
“We also understand that the LGUs also don’t want to waste the vaccines because that’s like a big sin if you’re wasting vaccines,” the IATF official said. “That’s why what we’re saying is to use a substitution list. We don’t want superspreader events. Least of all, we don’t want superspreaders happening in the vaccination sites.”
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