A lawmaker from the House of Representatives is now proposing mandatory COVID-19 vaccination, depending on the sectors to be identified by the Department of Health (DOH).
This is stated in the new House Bill 9252 by Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, something to be known as the “Mandatory COVID-19 Immunization Act of 2021.”
“The COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021 shall be mandatory for persons as may be determined by the DOH and shall be given for free at any government hospital or health center, and as provided in Republic Act No. 11525, PROVIDED, That inoculation must, at all times, be science and evidence based.”
“Consequently, a mandatory mass wide COVID-19 Vaccination Program is imperative to solve the present COVID-19 pandemic and achieve ‘herd immunity’ or ‘population immunity,'” explained Barzaga.
“The World Health Organization supports achieving ‘herd immunity’ through vaccination, not by allowing a disease to spread through any segment of the population that would result in unnecessary cases and deaths.”
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination pushed in Congress
According to the WHO, “herd immunity” refers to indirect protection from infectious disease once the population has become immune by vaccination or not contracting a disease from a previous infection.
“To safely achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, a substantial proportion of a population would need to be vaccinated, lowering the overall amount of virus able to spread in the whole population. One of the aims with working towards herd immunity is to keep vulnerable groups who cannot get vaccinated (e.g. due to health conditions like allergic reactions to the vaccine) safe and protected from the disease,” WHO said.
Currently, only healthcare workers, senior citizens, and people with other serious illnesses (comorbidities) are vaccinated against COVID-19. It is estimated that in May or June 2021, the A4 priority lists will be vaccinated, which includes market vendors, public transport workers, religious leaders, and other sectors that often face the public.
It is still difficult to get the vaccine supply, one reason for the slower rollout of the government’s vaccination program.
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