CEBU CITY -- Health Sec. Francisco Duque III on Friday appealed to the local government units (LGUs) to help the national government achieve the target of vaccinating 90 million Filipinos before the term of President Rodrigo Duterte ends.

Attending the “Bida Tungo sa New Normal Roadshow” in Cebu, Duque said LGUs play a big role in the country’s bid to vaccinate majority of the Filipinos.

Duque also appealed to senior citizens not to hesitate taking the vaccine against Covid-19.

“It is a big challenge for most LGUs to vaccinate those under A2 priority group or the senior citizens,” Duque said.

If possible, Duque advised LGUS to conduct house-to-house vaccination for senior citizens.

On the other hand, National Task Force (NTF) for Covid-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon advised the public to remain vigilant despite the decreasing number of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Dizon said the threat of Covid-19 remains even if most areas in the country have already been placed under the more relaxed Alert Level 1.

Dizon also reminded the public that the Omicron variant only causes mild symptoms for those who are vaccinated.

Even if vaccinated, Dizon said there is still a need to strictly observe health protocols such as wearing of face masks, constant washing of hands and proper physical distancing.

“Let’s not let our guard down. Covid-19 is still around. Let’s all work together as what we have done these past few years,” Dizon said.