President Rodrigo Duterte has warned that people who do not get vaccinated in the Philippines will face imprisonment. “You can choose: you get the vaccine or I will send you to jail,” Duterte said in Tagalog during a pre-recorded address on Monday night. He went on to say that those who did not want to get vaccinated should either go to jail or leave the country, to India or United States.
“Don’t get me wrong, there is a crisis in this country,” Duterte said. “I’m just exasperated by Filipinos not heeding the government.” The Philippines president has been constantly criticized for his tough approach and has also been under the flak for not opening schools.
It is to be noted that the Philippines government has been stepping up the incentives to get vaccinated like giving away cattle. Despite this, there has been a vaccine hesitancy that has been prevailing among the citizens of the Philippines. Of the total 70 million people targeted for this year, only 2.1 million have been vaccinated. So far, 10,30,000 people have been confirmed infected and 23,000 people have died due to COVID in the Philippines. Following this, 4 crore doses of Pfizer vaccine have been procured there and arranged to be paid to the general public.
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