DOH urges public not to lie about health conditions to get COVID-19 vaccine

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health called on Filipinos not to lie about having co-morbidities in order to get the coveted shot against COVID-19 as it assured that everyone will receive free vaccination.

In a briefing Friday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire asked the public to wait for their turns to be inoculated. She issued the reminder after there were reports of people getting caught when they attempted to jump the COVID-19 vaccine line.

Currently, only healthcare workers (A1), senior citizens (A2), persons with comorbidities (A3) and essential workers (A4) are eligible for vaccination.

“You don’t need to fake your documents. You don’t need to lie that you have illness. You will be  given vaccine because that is your right,” Vergeire said in Filipino.

She stressed Filipinos will get their vaccine doses once the delivery of vaccines is stabilized.

The health official said those who are falsifying medical documents and lying about having sickness could face penalties for violating existing regulations.

“So we are warning, we are advising the people: don’t go to that strategy. You don’t need to do that,” she said.

To ensure eligibility for A3 vaccination, people with medical conditions may provide any of the following as proof of comorbidity:

• Medical certificate from an attending physician
• Prescription for medicines
• Hospital records such as the discharge summary and medical abstract
• Surgical records and pathology reports
• Any other proof that may indicate eligibility for A3 vaccination

Vergeire said health workers present at vaccination sites evaluate the documents and check if they are authentic.

As of June 6, only 347,297 people with comorbidities have completed vaccination as of June 6.

Only 1.55% of the country’s roughly 110 million population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 4.26% have received the first of two doses of the vaccine.