MANILA – It is up to President Rodrigo Duterte whether he would take the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shot in the country to allay public fears, said his spokesperson Harry Roque.
According to Roque, the country’s chief executive is already in talks with his doctors.
“That is solely between him and his doctor,” Roque said in a virtual presser on Monday. “‘Yan po ay sinasangguni naman na ng Presidente, hayaan po natin siyang magdesisyon.”
“Kung sa tingin niya (President Duterte) ay natatakot ang mga tao sa bakuna ay hindi naman po siya mag-aatubili na mauna,” he added. “Basta ang sa kaniya, interes ng taumbayan bago ang interes ng mga nakaupo.”
Roque’s statement came after Vice President Leni Robredo’s said that the President should be among the first people to receive the jab.
Only 32 percent of Filipinos said they are willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a Pulse Asia survey conducted from Nov. 23 to Dec. 2 last year.
A near majority, or 47 percent, said they are not inclined to be inoculated, and 84 percent of which cited safety concerns as reason.
In a recent non-commissioned survey by OCTA Research, it showed that only one out of four Metro Manila respondents are willing to get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19./PN
