Only three out of every 10 individuals in Metro Manila are willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Based on a survey conducted by cities in the National Capital Region (NCR), DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said this Sunday that only 20 percent to 30 percent of the region’s population is in favor of being vaccinated.
That number is very low in the 80 percent of the population in NCR that DILG targets for herd immunity.
There is no compulsion out of respect for the rights of the people, Densing said, but the government will still try to convince the people through information drives.
“Patuloy kaming umiikot, no? Umiikot kami sa Metro Manila, Calabarzon. Sa susunod na linggo, babiyahe rin po kami Mindanao, sa Davao City para ipaliwanag ho sa taong bayan ang importansya ng pagbabakuna,” he said.
The arrival of the first batch of Pfizer vaccines from the World Health Organization’s COVAX facility will be slightly delayed, according to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr.
According to Galvez, Pfizer vaccines are expected to arrive in the third or fourth week of February. It was first mentioned that vaccinations are expected in mid-February, according to the World Health Organization.
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Only 3 out of 10 individuals in Metro Manila willing to get vaccinated: DILG
“The promise of the (World Health Organization) before is second week. But there are documents that needed to be submitted before its arrival. Medyo ma-delay. Mag-slide tayo ng another week,” Galvez said at a Senate hearing.
“Considering the agreement medyo made-delay ng 3rd week of February. Pero definitely it will be on February,” he added.
There has been no arrival date for the first batch of 117,000 Pfizer shots from the COVAX facility, according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
“Inaasahan po natin, hindi matatapos ang buwan ng Pebrero at darating din ang paunang shipment galing sa COVAX Facility,” he said.
Meanwhile, the country will receive an initial batch of 600,000 COVID-19 vaccine shots from China’s Sinovac Biotech on February 23, according to Malacañang.