Quezon City District 2 Councilor Winnie Castelo is urging the city government to immediately launch house-to-house COVID-19 vaccinations amid the spike in cases linked to the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
“Let us seek out residents who have not been vaccinated by knocking on their doors and offer them their preferred vaccine to help them protect themselves and others from the virus,” he said.
“This proposed house-to-house or door-to-door vaccination for both the unvaccinated and fully vaccinated awaiting their additional dose will protect our people against omicron, which now accounts for most COVID-19 cases.”
Castelo said many of those who have stayed away from vaccination are afraid to go to inoculation centers in their barangay for fear of catching the virus.
“Others are waiting for the vaccine of their choice to become available, while the poor have no access to the internet, or if they have, their signal is spotty, making it hard for them to register online for vaccination,” he said.
He added that the city government should also target those fully vaccinated who are waiting for their booster shots.
“This proposed house-to-house or door-to-door vaccination for both the unvaccinated and fully vaccinated awaiting their additional dose will protect our people against omicron, which now accounts for most COVID-19 cases,” he stressed.
At the same time, Castelo urged the Department of Health (DOH) to provide the city government with a sufficient supply of vaccines that have a higher take-up or wider acceptance.
“Let’s face it, people naturally prefer vaccines with higher efficacy. The DOH has come out with a list of mix-and-match vaccines and people are free to choose which brand they think would better protect them,” he said.
He said the city government should know by now which vaccines most residents opt for and should ask the DOH for enough supply.
