Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 18) — Local governments should have a ‘hybrid’ of online and house-to-house registration for free COVID-19 vaccine to speed up the rollout of shots in anticipation of more supply, Vice President Leni Robredo said on Sunday.
Robredo said she observed a lot of LGUs only offer online registration. But she noted not all Filipinos who want to avail themselves of free vaccination services have access to technology.
“Ngayon kasi napapansin ko – hindi siguro sa lahat ng LGU – pero maraming LGU na online ang pag-register. Ang problema sa online registration, marami tayong mga kababayan na hindi kaya iyon,” the vice president said in her weekly radio show BISErbisyong LENI.
[Translation: What I have observed was many LGUs – if not all – use online registration. The problem with online registration is that not everyone has the capacity to register online.]
She also said house-to-house registration is important amid the low confidence in vaccines.
Robredo pointed out the local inoculation drive has a “problem in speed,” noting some vaccine doses remained unused a month since the vaccination program started. She also said she has received information that some hospitals were not able to use all the vaccines allocated to them because a lot of people refused to receive the shot.
Data from the Department of Health showed that the country has so far received over 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, of which 2.8 million were distributed. Of the distributed doses, 1.2 million were administered to Filipinos. Currently, the government is conducting simultaneous vaccination of healthcare workers, elderlies, and people with comorbidities in light of the fresh surge in COVID-19 cases. The government aims to inoculate up to 70 million of the population to achieve herd immunity by end of the year.
Robredo reiterated the need to identify the vaccine recipients “by name” to make sure prioritization is followed. She said this measure, coupled with logistics preparedness, will ensure a smooth vaccination process.
