A Catholic bishop in northern Luzon supported calls for a “house-to-house” vaccination of people with comorbidities and the elderly.
“It would be a big help for our senior citizens and those with comorbidities who are afraid to go out of their homes because of the virus,” Bishop Jose Elmer Mangalinao of Bayombong.
The prelate told Radio Veritas 846 that the proposal would also help in the dissemination of information about the vaccine against COVID-19 in remote areas.
Bishop Mangalinao, however, said he is against the proposal of President Rodrigo Duterte to punish those who refuse to be vaccinated.
“I am against forcing, threatening, and punishing people who do not want to get the vaccine,” he said, adding that it is more important for the government to enhance its information campaign.
A survey done by pollster Social Weather Stations has earlier shown that vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos have been going down.
The survey results released last week show that only 8 percent of adult Filipinos did not want to get vaccinated against COVID-19, down from 18 percent in September, 21 percent in June and 33 percen in May.
The survey also found that 50 percent of adult Filipinos received at least one vaccine dose.
Government data, however, show that only 56.8 million people have completed vaccination while 59.6 million have received only partial protection. Only 5.87 million individuals have received booster shots.
