Escudero: Gov’t can’t require COVID-19 vaxxing; vaccines still under EUA

(FILE) GETTING PROTECTION People get inoculated at the drive-thru vaccination site at the compound of the newly built Bagong Ospital ng Maynila on Monday. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — The government cannot order the mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 as the current brands of COVID-19 vaccine are still under emergency use authorization (EUA).

Escudero said that instead of forcing the public to get vaccinated, the government should instead step up its campaign to persuade the unvaccinated. He also noted there is no law making vaccination mandatory.

“These vaccines are still EUA, meaning their clinical trials are still ongoing to enable the state to make vaccination mandatory,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Once these vaccines have passed all scrutiny and studies, that’s the only time the state can make it part of its public health policy which can be enforced through the police power of the state,” he added.

Nevertheless, Escudero stressed that he supports vaccination.

“I am all for vaccination and we should all exert effort to convince people to get vaccinated,” he noted.

While vaccination is not mandatory in the country, the Department of Transportation recently issued a policy mandating that only fully vaccinated commuters may take public transportation in Metro Manila.

Commuters with medical conditions preventing them from being vaccinated, those getting or delivering essential goods and services, those headed to inoculation sites for vaccination, and workers with proper identification are exempt.

Escudero said the DOTr policy should be recalled, noting that it is discriminatory and lacks legal basis.

/MUF