The Department of Health (DOH) said that the proposal to ease coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals can result to "discrimination."
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that they are open to this recommendation of the Metro Manila Council (MMC).
"However, we still have to consider that majority of the population is still not vaccinated, hence, it may lead to discrimination especially to those who don't have access to vaccines yet," said Vergeire in a statement on Friday, Sept. 10.
Vergeire said that the DOH is currently conducting a "review and study" to this kind of recommendation.
The DOH spokesperson said that at this point, it is not wise to make a differentiation between vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
" DOH maintains that we still cannot differentiate between those vaccinated and unvaccinated as COVID-19 vaccines are not transmission-blocking," said Vergeire.
"Fully-vaccinated individuals can still get infected and transmit the virus," she added.
On Thursday, the MMC issued a resolution urging the Interagency Task Force (IATF) to ease the COVID-19 restrictions for people who have completed the COVID-19 vaccine dosage in Metro Manila.
This proposal will help in boosting the economic activities in Metro Manila and will encourage more people to get vaccinated, the MMC said.