Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday, Dec. 1 said government should go ahead with the booster shots to the private sector if there is still vaccine hesitancy.
Zubiri issued the statement after Senator Juan Edgardo ‘’Sonny’’ M. Angara, chairman of the Senate Finance committee, said that vaccines, especially those would expire soon, should now be given to the private sector.
Senator Joel Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Labor committee, agreed with Zubiri that vaccines nearing expiration should be used to vaccinate A4 workers, particularly the economic frontliners such as drivers, sanitation workers, delivery personnel and others.
‘’Ngunit hindi po dapat tumigil ang paghihikayat sa mga kababayan natin na magpabakuna (Calls for our countrymen to have themselves vaccinated should not stop),’’ he said.
Malapit na rin po ang holiday season at siguradong marami po sa ating mga kababayan ang uuwi sa kani-kanilang mga probinsiya (As the holiday season approaches, many of our countrymen would be going to their provinces). Kaya po magandang siguruhin na madadala ang mga bakuna sa iba't-ibang mga lalawigan at lugar para masigurong mabibigyan ng bakuna ang ating mga kababayan (That is why there is a need to bring the vaccines to the provinces and places to ensure that vaccinating our countrymen would be ensured),’’ he added.
‘’The hesitancy might be addressed by showing that more people are actually willing to be vaccinated,’’ he stressed.