Dizon: Most LGUs don’t allow walk-in vaccination to ensure prioritization framework is followed

Most of the local government units (LGUs) do not allow walk-in appointments for COVID-19 vaccination to ensure that the prioritization framework is followed, an official of the government’s pandemic task force said Tuesday.

Vince Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, said the refusal stemmed from the need for residents to undergo a pre-registration, which will help the LGUs and health officials determine who should be given priority status.

“The policy of the NTF and vaccine cluster is to allow LGUs to decide how to implement an effective and expeditious immunization campaign,” Dizon said at a Palace news conference.

“There are some LGUs that allow walk-ins but most do not.”

In February, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III issued a department order stating “no walk-in vaccination shall be accommodated since vaccines allocated for the day are sufficiently assigned for the projected number of vaccinations to be conducted in a day.”

Scheduling for vaccination shall be made by local governments or zones depending on available supply and deliveries, the order said.

The Philippines has already vaccinated more than one million people since it launched its mass immunization program last month. — RSJ, GMA News