(File photo)
MANILA – A health official on Thursday said the public has "autonomy" to decide about being vaccinated against the coronavirus.
In an online press briefing, Beverly Ho, director of DOH Health Promotion Bureau, said it is clear to the health sector and the medical practitioners that "people have autonomy at the end of the day" when it comes to their health.
"That’s why they get to determine what medical procedure they go into,” Ho added.
This is in reaction to President Rodrigo Duterte's earlier statement to arrest and imprison those who refuse to be inoculated.
Ho said the department still has the responsibility to help the public make informed decisions about vaccination, which would provide protection and safety to them, their families and their community.
To convince the public to receive jabs, the agency uses “strong demand generation” through information dissemination.
“These are not just above-the-line information dissemination activities or what you would expect traditionally, the TV commercials, radio commercials, but it’s really a lot of interpersonal convincing. With that we recognize that we can’t do it alone as DOH nor as healthcare professionals alone, so all of us have a role to play," Ho said.
Early this week, Duterte threatened to order the arrest of people who refuse to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as they could be “potential carriers” of the coronavirus.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje earlier said Duterte's words should be taken with the context that "the President wants to emphasize the point that vaccines are needed to help us move on and protect one another".
The vaccines are free and vaccination requires prior informed consent, she added. (PNA)
