Philippine President tells unvaccinated people ‘for all I care, you can die anytime’

The Philippine President has told unvaccinated people ‘for all I care, you can die anytime’ as he continues his brutal threats against vaccine deniers.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte issued a stark warning to those refusing Covid-19 vaccines during an address to the nation.

Duterte said in a national address on Wednesday: “For those who do not want it, well, for all I care, you can die anytime.”

He added that he wanted the police to restrict the movement of people who refuse coronavirus vaccines: “To those people who do not want to be vaccinated, I am telling you, don’t go out of your house. If you go out of your house, I will tell the police to return you to your home. You will be escorted back to your house because you are a walking spreader.”

According to data from the WHO (World Health Organisation), only 6% of the country is vaccinated. Duterte previously threatened to jail people who refuse to get a coronavirus vaccine.

Supply delays have also slowed the vaccination rate in some parts of the country.

The Philippines expected to receive about 30 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in July, according to its vaccine czar, who also apologised for supply delays that halted inoculation in some cities.

About 16 million doses will arrive in July that would include vaccines donated by Japan and U.S., those committed under Covax as well as shots procured by companies, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said in a recorded briefing aired Tuesday night. Around 14 million doses are expected in August, he said.

Several cities in the Philippine capital region have halted their first-dose vaccination programs as supply from the national government runs out. Galvez said delays in supplies are unavoidable and usually occur in the first and last weeks of the month as vaccine manufacturers prepare for deployment.

The Philippines is battling one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia, with nearly 1.45 million cases and more than 25,000 deaths as of July 6. Only about 2.9 million individuals or less than 3% of its population have been fully vaccinated, risking efforts to reopen an economy that remained in recession in the first quarter.

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