Do not pass go, do not collect $200 — if you're in the Philippines and refuse the COVID-19 vaccine, President Rodrigo Duterte wants you to go directly to jail.
"You choose, vaccine or I will have you jailed," Duterte said on Monday during a televised address. The Philippines has reported more than 1.3 million COVID-19 cases and over 23,000 deaths. There is low turnout at vaccination sites in Manila, and while health officials have stressed the importance of the vaccine, they also have made it clear it's voluntary, Reuters reports.
Duterte has decided to try to a different approach. There is "a crisis in this country," he said. "I'm just exasperated by Filipinos not heeding the government." As of Sunday, 2.1 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated. There are 110 million people living in the Philippines, and the government has said its goal is to inoculate 70 million by the end of the year.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Duterte is known for his hardline stance on most things — he has waged a war on drugs since being elected in 2016, and thousands have been killed in the campaign. A prosecutor with the International Criminal Court has asked to investigate these deaths, but Duterte on Monday said he will not cooperate. "Why would I defend or face an accusation before white people," he said. "You must be crazy."
-
The Icelandic women’s strike 50 years onIn The Spotlight The nation is ‘still no paradise’ for women, say campaigners
-
Mall World: why are people dreaming about a shopping centre?Under The Radar Thousands of strangers are dreaming about the same thing and no one sure why
-
Why scientists are attempting nuclear fusionThe Explainer Harnessing the reaction that powers the stars could offer a potentially unlimited source of carbon-free energy, and the race is hotting up
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the riseThe Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
