(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte ordered local government units not to make people for vaccination wait in line, under the rain and in flooded areas.
The President made the comment after Secretary Carlito Galvez showed him a picture of people lining up in knee-deep floods just to get vaccinated.
“Cold people are exposed in the open, unprotected from the elements then they are waiting to get a chance to have the shot, mga 3 to 4 hours magtindig diyan,” the President said.
He said local government units should instead “come up with a more sane process of vaccination than allowing people to queue as early as 4 a.m. and getting their shots at 9 a.m.”
“Make a head count of how many they can… time and motion in vaccination… how many they can inoculate. Then tell them to come back rather than make them wait there. It’s a question of common sense,” he said.
He said LGUs should “take into account the weather and the place where they should be waiting.”
“That ought not to be repeated. Kawawa yung tao,” he added.
The Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccination program kicked off in February.
So far, members across the A1 to A5 categories are being inoculated.
Earlier, the Department of Health confirmed the transmission of the Delta variant in the Philippines, and urged Filipinos to avoid unnecessary travel and gatherings.
On Saturday, the DOH said 17 more Delta variant cases were reported in the country, pushing the total to 64.
