The unorthodox approach to boosting vaccination rates was touted by Rodrigo Duterte during his latest ‘Talk to the People’ address on Monday. “I know many people are still hesitant,” the president said, as quoted by local media.
‘So find them in your barangays (neighborhoods). Let’s enter their houses and vaccinate them while they are asleep. End of story.’
The president added that he was ready to personally lead the nocturnal immunization raids.
The suggestion, which was hopefully a joke, came as the Philippines president was trying to convince the public to take the vaccine. On the same program, Duterte took personal responsibility for his government’s failure to secure enough doses for a swifter vaccine rollout earlier this year, but noted that even a limited campaign had reduced the spread of the disease.
The Pacific island nation started its Covid-19 immunization program in March, using China’s Sinovac vaccine. Duterte had earlier blamed rich nations for hoarding available doses and leaving countries like the Philippines behind.
