HOUSE committee on ways and means chairman and Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda on Sunday backed the proposal of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to provide incentives for those who will get coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, saying “this is crucial especially for those who will have to cut a day or so from work.”

“I support Secretary [Carlito] Galvez’s proposal. That is actually already being practiced in certain localities that can afford to do so, such as Davao City. In my district, the capital city of Legazpi is also leading Bicol in vaccinations through an aggressive vaccination campaign and a streamlined registration process,” Salceda said.

Salceda earlier called for a vaccination allowance “to compensate for lost work days” due to the vaccine schedule and the side effects.

Galvez presented options for the government yesterday to encourage vaccination, as daily vaccination rates have plateaued to around 400,000 jabs.

“I think we also have to accept that there is some degree of bias towards Western brands. I myself got Sinovac, as have many of my own family and staff, but the bias is there, so instead of insisting on the Chinese brands, we may have to meet where our people’s consciousness and preferences are, if that is what it takes to get them jabbed,” Salceda added.

“Even Mayor Sara [Duterte] is calling for the purchase of Western brands, seeing the realities of preference on the ground.”

“The people are not brand-agnostic, even if we wanted them to be. In the end, they are the ones who will decide to get vaccinated, not us. So, I think we should meet them where they are.”

Salceda also said he supported Galvez’s efforts to encourage LGUs to ramp up their vaccination efforts.

“Metro Manila is almost done with vaccination, and the results in terms of cases and hospitalizations is evident. We need more of that in the provinces.”

“The key difference has been the registration system. In many towns, the registration system for vaccination schedule is still in disarray. As a result, people either walk into the sites without prior registration, or they just don’t know when and where or how to get vaccines,” Salceda said.

“I think the DILG (Department of interior and Local Government) and the IATF can issue guidelines on the vaccination scheduling and registration. Better yet, a dashboard that can be operated online and offline would be very useful,” Salceda said.

“I hope Secretary Ano and Secretary Galvez consider this move among the other good suggestions they proposed yesterday to President Duterte,” Salceda said.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ryan Ponce Pacpaco