Mayor of Pateros says people don’t want reminders due to Tier 1 alert rules – Manila Bulletin

Pateros Mayor Miguel Ponce III said it is difficult to convince fully vaccinated people to get vaccinated because they can access government and private sector services without needing an extra dose.

The mayor revealed this during the launch of the “Resbakuna sa Botika” program at the Watsons branch of Pateros on March 8.

The “Resbakuna sa Botika” is a national government program in which pharmacies and private clinics are asked to administer Covid-19 boosters.

Ponce said it has been a year since the municipal government of Pateros launched the Covid-19 vaccination, but the problem now is how to convince people to get vaccinated.

“Our problem now is how do we convince people to get vaccinated after they get their primary series,” Ponce said, referring to the first and second doses of the vaccine.

He said people were not getting their reminders because the rules only applied to fully vaccinated people under Alert Level 1.

“We are all aware that the restrictions we make against unvaccinated people and the privilege we give to those who are fully vaccinated only concern the primary series, those who have received the first and second doses,” he said. he declares.

Ponce said it was difficult to enforce the booster shots because facilities are now allowed to have 100% capacity under Alert Level 1.

“Because booster is not included in the term ‘fully vaccinated.’ So people, once they have received the primary series, are already confident that they will be able to access all government and privately provided services because, for all legal purposes, they are fully vaccinated,” said the mayor.

The mayor urged people to get vaccinated as extra protection against Covid-19. The city government announced that the city’s Watsons, Jollibee and McDonald’s will administer the AstraZeneca, Moderna and Sinovac brands as booster shots.

According to Watsons Philippines, boosters will be administered at Watsons Pateros from March 8 to March 31 every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The reminders will be administered to priority groups A1 (essential health service workers and OFW), A4 (essential service workers) and A5 (people who are indigent or have little or no regular income) and the rest of the adult population provided that ‘they are not elderly and have no comorbidities.