President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Tuesday, May 3, urged voters who will flock to voting precincts on May 9 to get their COVID-19 booster shots to be protected.

During his weekly Talk to the People briefing, the President said voters must get the jab to protect themselves from possible coronavirus infections in polling places where there will be crowding.

The chief executive added that the booster shots are still available and anybody can have them because it’s election time.

While the booster shots might not 100-percent guarantee that there will be no COVID-19 reinfection, President Duterte pointed out that these jabs could help protect the people from the coronavirus and its effects.

“But if you are — normal ka lang, hindi ka magsakit — hindi ka masakitin, it can protect you and you can vote there without any — sans the worry about getting an infection again,” he said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who was also present during the President’s briefing, backed the chief executive’s call to the public to get vaccinated.

“Samantalahin natin ang libreng mga bakuna, pumunta na po sa mga vaccination center sa lalong madaling panahon. Huwag mag-aantay na magkaroon ng surge bago magpabakuna,” Secretary Duque said.

“Kapag ka ganoon ang nangyari, mahaba na naman ang pila, puno na naman po ang mga vaccination sites, ang mga doktor at mga nurses, at mga vaccinators po natin ay puntahan din naman ng mga hospital dahil kung may surge ang mga tao ay takbuhan nila ang mga ospital,” he explained.

The government is conducting house-to-house campaign vaccination at the local level.

According to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, there are currently 792 cities and municipalities carrying out house-to-house immunization with the help of the Department of Health (DOH).

The government has administered 1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through house-to-house vaccination, which included the first, second, and first booster, he said, adding the campaign will continue to be implemented. PND