Gov’t wants voters fully vaxxed

The Philippines is eyeing to fully vaccinate 77 million Filipino adults against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) before the scheduled elections in May.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said on Tuesday that the government is aiming to complete the vaccine doses of all voters as an added layer of protection against severe Covid-19.

“Before April or even May, we want our adult population to be fully vaccinated. That way, it would be an additional protection for voters,” he said in a Palace press briefing.

Aside from getting their Covid-19 jabs, Nograles said voters should adhere to health standards against Covid-19 in polling precincts.

He said the Palace will leave it up to the Commission on Elections to ensure public compliance with such protocols.

The Philippines, which has been reporting record-high coronavirus infections daily due to the highly infectious Omicron variant, has 55.19 million fully vaccinated Filipinos so far.

Of these, 10.69 million individuals are from Metro Manila, while 8.33 million are from nearby CALABARZON.

The country is holding a nationwide election on 9 May for some 18,000 positions, including for the presidency, vice presidency, 12 Senate seats, as well as local posts for mayors and governors.

About 67.5 million Filipinos, including 1.7 million overseas, are registered to vote in the upcoming polls.

The 2016 election saw a record voter turnout of 82 percent, with about 44.5 million Filipinos casting ballots.