DOH: COVID-19 vaccination not mandatory but benefits outweigh risk
By JULIA MARI ORNEDO, GMA News
Published April 26, 2021 4:06pm
Updated April 26, 2021 4:39pm
The benefits of COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the risks, the Department of Health (DOH) stressed on Monday even as it said that Filipinos are not yet mandated to get the shot.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said government officials decided to make COVID-19 vaccination voluntary based on the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO).
“At this stage or this period where vaccines are still at that developmental stage, we cannot mandate people to accept these vaccines because it is still not really completed yet,” she said in an online briefing.
This followed Cavite Representative Elpidio Barzaga Jr.’s bid to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for eligible individuals through House Bill No. 9252, arguing that herd immunity “can only be achieved by enacting legislation to mandate and promote COVID-19 vaccination.”
The COVID-19 vaccines that have been rolled out or approved by regulatory agencies in the Philippines are still under an emergency use authorization, which is issued for drugs and vaccines during a public health emergency.
