DOH: Consent needed for COVID-19 vaccination, Duterte threat 'born out of passion'

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday stressed that free, prior, and informed consent is a requirement for COVID-19 vaccination as it claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat to arrest people refusing to get vaccinated against the disease was merely “born out of passion.”

“Ang ating bakuna ay [may] free and prior informed consent kaya kailangan magpirma sila ng consent para magbakuna,” Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje explained in a Laging Handa briefing.

(Our vaccines require free and prior informed consent, that’s why a consent form must be signed first.)

Cabotaje also said Duterte’s threat to arrest people refusing COVID-19 vaccination must be put into context. 

“I think it is born out of the passion and need of the President to emphasize the point na kailangan magpabakuna to help us move on para maproteksyunan ang [that we must get vaccinated to protect] one another,” she said.

“Ang sabi nga niya [He said], ‘No one is safe until everyone is safe.’ He wants safe and effective vaccines for all Filipinos kaya ipinapatupad lang po ‘yung kanyang gustong mangyari dito sa ating bansa [that’s why his plans are being implemented],” Cabotaje added.

Duterte’s pronouncement on Monday was his latest threat of detention aimed at enforcing compliance with health protocols, including the wearing of face masks and the ban on mass gatherings. 

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra played down Duterte’s warning, saying the President “merely used strong words to drive home the need for us to get vaccinated and reach herd immunity as soon as possible.” 

Over 6.2 million Filipinos have been vaccinated as of June 20. A Social Weather Stations poll earlier found that 35% of Filipinos remain unsure about getting a COVID-19 jab. 

CHR rejects compulsory COVID-19 vaccination

Sought for comment on Duterte’s warning, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said its advisory on COVID-19 vaccination issued in January states that inoculation “should not be compulsory and should only be administered under the conditions of informed consent.”

“Persons administering the vaccine should be obliged to impart all relevant information to the other person. At all times, the state should seek to ensure that vaccination is voluntary,” the advisory read.

“Most importantly, persons who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 must not be penalized under the law,” it added.

The CHR previously reminded the government that human rights must be at the center of its COVID-19 response.  —KBK, GMA News