The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) recognises the hard work of local government units (LGUs) in ensuring public access to Covid-19 vaccines. However, we note that there is still room for improvement in ensuring the health and safety of people queuing up for the vaccination.
A day before NCR is placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine, large crowds of people were reported to have lined up for Covid-19 vaccination. People are seen without physical distancing. Others have raised that they waited a night before, without eating and sleeping, just to fail getting vaccinated. Similar situations were also reported in areas outside Metro Manila.
While our biggest problem remains to be the lack of sufficient vaccine supply to cover the whole population, the CHR also underscores the importance of a well-designed and scientifically-informed vaccination distribution plans to ensure strict implementation of health and safety protocols on the ground. This entails revisiting the whole system from vaccine registration up until the day of receiving the vaccines to avoid overcrowding and long queues in vaccination centres.
Despite people heeding the call of health authorities to get vaccinated, there are reports saying that individuals encounter difficulties as early as securing slots using online booking systems. This pushes people to head to vaccination centres and take their chances to get their jabs without any assurance, resulting in long wait queues without proper physical distancing in place. Instead of mitigating the virus, these events, if not managed accordingly, can lead to more Covid-19 infections and be superspreader events in the face of a more potent Delta variant.
At the same time, we urge the government to look into the plight of indigent populations, such as the poorest of the poor and homeless, who also need to be vaccinated but have limited to no access to online registration procedures.
CHR stresses the importance of a strong information dissemination campaign of LGUs to keep their constituents up-to-date with the latest vaccination status and process in their respective localities. Simple, accurate, and direct to the point communication is vital to quell misleading information that creates unnecessary panic and confusion among people, particularly among unvaccinated individuals.
Such glitches and inconsistencies in the system, misinformation, and unpleasant experiences in vaccination sites may contribute to increased vaccine hesitancy and discouragement among the public. Fair and reliable distribution of vaccines that respects the human rights of all is crucial in building trust and achieving our desired health outcomes.
Moreover, we urge our LGUs to remove barriers and strongly prioritise vulnerable populations, particularly the elderly, Persons with Disabilities, pregnant women, and those with comorbidities. Reasonable accommodation should also be provided especially if people cannot physically line up in vaccination sites due to health reasons.
As we implement stricter community quarantines with the surge of new Covid-19 cases, we cannot overemphasise that, if the government is truly faithful to its commitment that “we heal as one,” no Filipino should be left behind. #Vaccine4All