Acosta's refusal to get COVID-19 jab contributes to vaccine hesitancy — Drilon
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Thursday that Public Attorney Office (PAO) Chief Persida Acosta's refusal to get immunized against COVID-19 contributes to vaccine hesitancy.
He was responding to a question asked on ANC Headstart whether he believed that Acosta's reluctance to receive the COVID-19 jab contributes to the vaccine uncertainty.
"Yes, because she's a government official. If she cannot defend the policies of this administration, she should leave her post. I'm not even asking for that. I am just saying, protect your fellow workers in the PAO," Drilon answered.
"Do not physically report for work. If you don't want to be vaccinated then you should...have at your own expense daily tests before you come in so that you're negative so that you can protect your fellow workers," he added.
The senator has earlier called for the government to disallow Acosta from reporting to work since he believed that the government's " "no vax, stay at home" and "no vax, no ride" policies should apply to everyone.
Acosta previously admitted on television that she chose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 due to age and various health reasons.
She said she is waiting for a protein-based vaccine. Right now, the available COVID-19 vaccines are RNA (ribonucleic acid)-based.
For Drilon, the Philippines has among the lowest vaccination rates in the world at 54% even if there is sufficient supply.
"Maybe there can be issues on the distribution, on the logistics, but there certainly a major factor in the low vaccination rate (here) is the hesitance of the people to have themselves vaccinated," he said.
'Gov't to suffer credibility issues if officials do not follow vax mandate'
Drilon said that Acosta's decision not to receive the COVID-19 jab will be respected but added that the government "has the right to protect her co-workers and the community by barring her from going to work unless she gets vaccinated."
"PAO Chief Acosta is a high government official who must follow government regulation. [If this doesn't happen,] the campaign of the Philippines or the government to have people vaccinated will suffer from credibility issues," he said.
The country is currently experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly-infectious Omicron variant.
Philstar.com has reached out to the PAO office for Acosta's comment but has yet to receive a reply as of press time.
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