The Department of Health (DOH) expressed optimism that the lifting of the stay-at-home policy for fully vaccinated senior citizens under the general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ can encourage more elderly people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“Actually, that is one of the objective. Isa lang sa mga objectives natin kung bakit natin pinapayagang silang lumabas (Actually, that is one of the objectives. It's just one of our objectives why we allow them to now go outside),” said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire during a public press briefing on Saturday, June 12.
“Sa tingin namin kung sakaling makita nila na pinapayagan na iyong ibang nakakatanda makalabas, makapunta diyan sa mga parke, makapagsimba sa tingin ho namin ay mahihikayat pa rin natin ang ibang nakakatanda na magpabakuna (We think that if they see that other seniors are allowed to go out, to go to the parks and churches, we think we can encourage other seniors to get vaccinated as well),” she added.
However, the main objective for lifting the said policy is to improve their mental health amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said Vergeire.
“But of course the major objective is for them to go out have a, you know, makapag-exercise man lang sa parke (and do exercise in the park) and that is of course for their mental health,” she said.
As of June 8, the number of fully vaccinated senior citizens in the Philippines stood at 415,540, while 1,622,613 elderly Filipinos received their first dose.