DILG to LGUs: Convince unvaxxed in checkpoints to get vaccinated

MANILA – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday urged local government units (LGU) to come up with creative ways to deal with persons unvaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) who are intercepted at checkpoints.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, in a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA), commended the Taguig LGU under Mayor Lino Cayetano for convincing unvaccinated persons caught at the checkpoints and having them vaccinated immediately at the vaccination sites.

“This is a best practice that should be adopted by other LGUs. LGUs may still craft other initiatives and ideas to encourage people to get vaccinated,” Año said.

He earlier said he is in favor of proposals to bring the unvaccinated to the inoculation centers for them to get the jabs.

“Taguig City has been doing that on the first day of implementation of restricting unvaccinated persons to their homes. They caught 400 persons at their checkpoints. They were brought to the vaccination site and they agreed to get vaccinated,” Año added.

Cayetano has ordered the establishment of vaccination registration booths and the deployment of shuttle vehicles to checkpoints across the city.

The program has been initiated to ensure that residents who want to get vaccinated can have easier access to inoculation.

On the first day of the program’s implementation on January 7, about 450 unvaccinated individuals who were flagged at checkpoints and wanted to get inoculated were brought to the city’s vaccination hubs where they got their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The city also implements the exemptions for those who are unvaccinated that they may still travel, but only to buy essential goods, as well as persons whose medical conditions prevent them from being inoculated.

Cayetano said the city would continue these initiatives to curb the spread of the virus and further protect its residents and workers.

As of January 16, Taguig City has fully vaccinated 736,615 individuals, representing 84 percent of the Department of Health’s projected population of the city for 2022.

The city has also administered more than 100,000 booster doses.

Meanwhile, Año said he has already tested negative for Covid-19 based on the result of his reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test on Monday night.

“I will complete my exact day of isolation before going out, just to be safe,” he said, adding that he is due to complete his isolation on Thursday.