Malacañang is not concerned about the possibility of Filipinos opting out of the government's vaccination program against COVID-19 due to the Chinese vaccine Sinovac, saying the people already know why the government made the decision to go with the said brand.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement as the government steps up its information campaign about the vaccine to ease the public's concern about its efficacy and safety.
In his Thursday presser, Roque said they are not concerned about Filipinos online expressing their desire to just wait for the arrival of another brand instead of getting inoculated with the Chinese vaccine.
"Alam niyo po, hindi (You know, we're not concerned)!" he said.
Roque explained that the public knows that the government only wants to protect the people from COVID-19, especially now that the new and more contagious variant of the virus has entered the country.
"Sa tingin ko po, itong ginagawa natin na pagpapaliwanag, bagama’t hinahaluan ng pulitika po ng mga kritiko ng administrasyon ay maiintindihan naman po ng taumbayan kung ano ang ginagawa ng gobyerno (I think that through this information campaign that we're doing, even though critics of the administration are politicizing it, people understand what the government is doing)," he said.
"Sinisiguro na ang pinakamaraming Pilipino ay mabigyan ng proteksiyon laban sa COVID-19 sa panahon na pumasok na nga po ang new variant (We want to make sure that majority of Filipinos will be protected against COVID-19, especially now that the new variant is now in the Philippines)," he added.
Health experts in the country said that the new COVID-19 variant that originated from the United Kingdom is 56 percent more contagious.
Roque urged Filipinos Friday to get themselves vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine, saying there is no reason for them to be concerned since almost all items in their daily lives are made in China.
"Huwag po kayong mag-aalala kasi kung titingnan ninyo araw-araw ang buhay ninyo, halos lahat ng ginagamit natin made in China. Iyan na po ang riyalidad (Do not worry because if you look at it, almost everything that we use is made in China. That's the reality)," he said in a radio interview.
"From kinakain to ginagamit sa bahay halos lahat po iyan made in China. Ganoon din po siguro ang mangyayari sa vaccine, wala pong pagbabago iyan sa ating pang-araw-araw na buhay (From the food we eat to our household items, almost all of them are made in China. The vaccine's just like that, it's no different from the things we use every day)," he added.
The government recently procured 25 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine.