Vaccine hesitancy is a real problem plaguing the Philippines’ race to protect its population from COVID-19. But Malacañang, when asked if it had a program to deal with people refusing vaccination, said it would just leave them at the mercy of the virus.

Watch this snippet from Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque’s press briefing on Monday, August 9, echoing similar remarks a few days earlier.

But is vaccine hesitancy really the main driver of the Philippines’ low vaccination rates? It’s the delayed procurement and slow rollout of vaccines, according to an expert. For more about vaccine hesitancy, watch this Rappler explainer. – Rappler.com