MALACAÑANG has renewed its call for local government units (LGUs) to consider house-to-house vaccination drives to get more senior citizens and persons with comorbidities vaccinated against Covid-19.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, acting presidential spokesperson, said providing vaccination services at home would provide convenience for these priority groups, especially those who have difficulty traveling to vaccination sites.

“Yung house-to-house campaign will be very effective para yung sa accessibility at meron din po tayong mga kababayan na talagang nahihirapan sila lumabas, nahihirapan pumunta sa vaccination sites (in terms of accessibility and we also have countrymen who really have difficulty going out, traveling to vaccination sites),” Nograles said in an interview over DZBB on Saturday.

Nograles acknowledged that some LGUs are already carrying out house-to-house vaccination drives but noted that LGUs outside the Metro Manila and neighboring provinces would also have to do the same.

“Yung hindi makakapag biyahe. Kailangan reach out nalang tayo sa kanila (Those who cannot travel, we have to reach out to them),” Nograles said.

He emphasized the need for cooperation between the national and local governments as well as the general public to achieve the country’s vaccination goals.

Meanwhile, Nograles defended again the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte for village chiefs to restrict the movement of individuals not vaccinated against Covid-19.

Duterte’s directive comes as the country grapples with a spike in Covid-19 cases anew.

Citing health experts, he said unvaccinated individuals who contract Covid-19 have a higher risk of complications, like hospitalizations and death from the virus, compared to those who are vaccinated.

“It’s really for the protection of those unvaccinated,” he said.

Currently, over 54 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The Philippines aims to reach its goal of fully vaccinating 90 million Filipinos before the end of June.

On Sunday, the Department of Health reported 37,154 additional cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 3,205,396.

Fifty more deaths brought the death toll due to Covid-19 up to 52,907 while 30,037 more people getting better increased recoveries to 2,864,633. PNA