MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday reiterated his call to parents and their children to get vaccinated, as the country started its Covid-19 vaccination rollout for children aged 5 to 11 years old on Monday.
“Get the vaccines and include your children because it will ensure their health and life in the future. Importante talaga ang bakuna (Vaccines are important),” he said in his prerecorded Talk to the People.
He stressed that it is essential to inoculate children “for they constitute the next generation of Filipinos”.
“These are Filipinos of tomorrow. It is very important that you bring your children to vaccination sites and have them vaccinated,” he said. “If you love your country, ang anak mo, pagsabayin mo ang dalawang rason na yan (if you love your children, use these two reasons), have them vaccinated.”
Duterte stated, citing Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, that the majority of individuals who died as a result of Covid-19 have yet to receive their vaccines.
In the same meeting, Duque noted that about 93 percent of death due to Covid-19 in 2021 were not vaccinated against the disease.
Duterte added that he has been urging the public to get vaccinated, warning them that the health crisis is not over yet.
“Noon, sinabi namin. Ngayon, sabihin ko ulit. Ewan ko ilang beses (Before, we told you. Now, we’re telling you again. I don’t know how many times) I have to say the statement. Of course, with a warning that sa sitwasyon ngayon (in the situation now), we are not over the hump. Di pa tayo magsabi na wala na (We can’t say it’s gone) because the microbes are still in the air,” he said.
“Ako, nagpapasensya ako sa inyo na miski ganito nalang na paulit-ulit dahil nga interisado akong mabuhay kayo. Pero kung gusto ninyo mamatay, okay man rin. Maluwang pa ang maraming libingan dito (Me, I’m being patient with you even if I have to repeatedly say it because I want you to live. But if you want to die, it’s fine. There are a lot of cemeteries here),” he added.
Duterte stated that he was perplexed as to why some people continued to refuse vaccination despite learning about global deaths.
“I really do not understand ang utak ng mga taong ito. Nakikita nila yung patay, sinasabi na ng people in the government and in the private sector about the importance of vaccination but until people realize na kung nandiyan na, nasa ospital na, lahat naman nasa ospital ngayon, hindi bakunado. Ayan, ospital kaagad (I really do not understand how their brains work. They can already see people dying, people in the government and in the private sector are talking about the importance of vaccination but until people realize that patients in hospitals are not vaccinated. There, they go straight to the hospital),” he said.
He stated that he does not intend to appear “morbid” by expressing facts, but that to inform the public is vital.
“Masakit nga pakinggan pero kailangan ko sabihin sa inyo yung totoo (It sounds painful, but I need to tell you the truth). We do not talk of things which are not true. We do not dwell on matters that are falsehoods. We are not allowed to say something here na hindi tama. Kailangan talaga ang lumalabas sa bunganga naming yung tama lang (that is not right. What comes out of our mouth is only the truth),” he said.
Although it was previously believed that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was milder than other variants, Duterte stated that vaccination would help protect them against severe symptoms and death caused by variants such as Delta.
Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is used for pediatric vaccination because it is the only vaccine that has received emergency use approval from the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration for children aged 5 to 11 years old.
The Pfizer vaccine for children has a lower dosage and concentration than the vaccines given to minors aged 12 to 17, who began receiving their jabs in October 2021.
Secretary Vince Dizon, the Presidential Adviser on Covid-19 Response, informed Duterte that 60 million Filipinos have now been completely vaccinated.
Meanwhile, over 8 million booster shots have been administered.
