Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. has urged the public to remain calm even as he assured them that there was no truth to the information spreading online that the national government will prohibit unvaccinated persons from going out of their homes.

In fact, Galvez underscored that the plan was actually to intensify the vaccination program against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Metro Manila during the implementation of a two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), which officially began Friday, Aug. 6.

"Huwag tayong magpanic dahil during ECQ mas magiging aggressive tayo (Do not panic because during ECQ, we will be more aggressive) in our vaccine rollout. Magparehistro at sundin ang (Register and follow the) proper processing because the vaccination program will continue," he said.

The National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 chief implementer issued the remark after hundreds of people trooped to various vaccination sites in Metro Manila cities on Thursday, prompting some local chief executives to close some sites as minimum public health standards were blatantly violated. Authorities warned that such incidents could easily become superspreader events.

Prior to this, rumors spread online that unvaccinated persons will supposedly be prevented from going outdoors or won't receive "ayuda" (cash assistance) from the government during the ECQ--something that has been dismissed by government officials.

Galvez said that while they appreciate the efforts of local government units (LGUs) in ramping up the inoculation program, the latter must ensure that social distancing, wearing of masks, and other safety protocols would be observed at the vaccination sites.

Meanwhile, he assured the mayors that four to six million doses of vaccines would be allocated to National Capital Region (NCR) and several adjacent provinces for this month to scale up their daily vaccinations.

Out of this number, one million shots have already been deployed to the LGUs while the remaining supplies are being prepared for distribution.

Galvez said the NTF was keen on increasing the allocation up to eight million doses, thanks to the expected arrival of 22.7 million doses of anti-coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines this month from various manufacturers and sources.

"We have collaborated with Metro Manila mayors and different line agencies such as the Department of Transportation and the Department of Health to ensure that we will be able to scale up our vaccine rollout in the NCR and administer 250,000 doses daily during the ECQ period," Galvez said.

He said various measures will be implemented to ensure the continuous deployment of vaccines despite the hard lockdown in Metro Manila.

These include house-to-house vaccination, provision of free transportation services for residents to and from the vaccination sites, and the continuous establishment of vaccination sites in highly-vulnerable communities.

As of August 4, a total of 22,488,705 doses have already been administered nationwide. More than 10.2 million Filipinos are considered fully vaccinated.