Palace cites eased anti-COVID vaccination requirements to again coax unvaccinated

Syringe/Vaccine (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The government is again persuading people who remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 to get their shots now, citing loosened inoculation requirements such as allowing walk-ins and only mandating blood pressure checks and medical clearances for specific cases.

“Mga kababayan, may mga bakuna, mas maluwag na po ang mga requirement para dito. Kaya ‘wag na po tayong magdalawang-isip, magpabakuna na po tayo,” Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a Palace briefing Friday.

(There are available vaccines, the requirements are looser for this. That’s why we should not think twice and get vaccinated.)

Citing an advisory from the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19, Nograles said walk-ins are allowed in vaccination sites.

“Hindi na rin po kailangan bilang health screening ang pag-monitor sa blood pressure unless ang babakunahan ay may history ng hypertension, or may sintomas ng hypertension at iba pang konsiderasyon na base sa clinical judgement ng doktor sa vaccination site,” he added.

(Blood pressure checks will also no longer be required as part of the health screening unless a would-be vaccine recipient has a history of hypertension or symptoms of hypertension or other considerations based on the clinical judgment of a doctor on the vaccination site.)

Meanwhile, medical clearance and certification may only be required when an individual has any of the following comorbidities:

• Autoimmune disease
• HIV
• Cancer/Malignancy
• Transplant patients
• Patients undergoing steroid treatment
• Patients with poor prognosis/bedridden patients

To date, more than 54 million people in the country were already vaccinated against COVID-19 while more than 4.4 million people have received their booster or additional doses.

KGA