The proposed mandatory vaccination of Filipinos against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can be studied only when the country has received the bulk of supplies of the preventive drug, according to a Palace official.
Meantime, the government is not inclined to require Filipinos to get vaccinated due to the country's limited supply of vaccines, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
A bill seeking to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory has been filed in the House of Representatives. Cavite 4th District Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., who filed House Bill No. 9252, pushed for mandatory vaccination to help meet the government's goal of herd immunity.
"Hindi pa po tayo dumarating sa puntong iyon, kasi hindi naman sapat ang ating bakuna, bakit tayo mag-i-isip na gawing mandatory. Eh sa ngayon sapat-sapat lang iyong ating bakuna para doon sa mga gustong magpabakuna (We have not reached that point yet because we don't have enough vaccines so why would we make it mandatory. At present, our supplies are sufficient for those who want to get vaccinated)," Roque said about the proposed mandatory vaccination over DZXL radio Wednesday, April 28.
Asked about the chances of approval of Barzaga's bill, Roque said: "Well, talagang dapat pong pag-isipan na iyan, pero kapag marami na tayong bakuna. Baka naman eh magkakaroon tayo ng mandatory, hindi naman sapat ang bakuna (Well, that's something to think about but only we have more vaccines. If we make it mandatory now, the supply is not sufficient)."
Roque assured the nation that additional vaccine supplies will arrive in the country next month.
Out of the more than 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines received by the country, over 1.5 million Filipinos have received their shots. The country was supposed to receive the initial batch of Russian-made vaccines Wednesday but its delivery was delayed due to logistical problems.
"Huwag po kayo mag-aalala, tapos na po halos ang buwan ng Abril at talagang nahirapan lang tayo dito sa Abril, nagkaroon po tayo ng shortfall ng inaasahan nating delivery pero babawi naman po tayo pagdating ng Mayo (Do not worry. We really had difficulty this month. There was a shortfall of the anticipated delivery but we can recover this coming May)," he said.
Roque also encouraged Filipinos to get vaccinated as soon as the opportunity comes to boost protection against the coronavirus, which he claimed knows "no boundaries." He said vaccination was important to attain herd immunity and facilitate the return to normalcy in the country.
The country breached the 1 million mark in terms of total coronavirus cases early this week as more infections have been reported. As of April 27, the country has recorded 1,013,618 cases with 16,916 deaths.