Thousands storm Philippine vaccination sites after false reports

Thousands of people flooded Philippine COVID-19 vaccination centers on Friday following false reports that unvaccinated residents would not be able to receive monetary aid or would be restricted to their homes during a two-week lockdown.

According to The Associated Press, local officials placed the Philippine capital of Manila on lockdown until Aug. 20 in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus as the city sees spikes in infections. Three other regions were placed under lockdown restrictions until Aug. 15.

Local residents began to show up to vaccination centers in droves just a day before lockdown after misinformation was spread claiming that they could miss out on up to $20 in aid or be restricted to their homes if they did not get inoculated, the AP reported.

Crowds of people faced lines spanning several blocks and traffic as they flocked to vaccination centers in Manila, Las Pinas and Antipolo. Many people showed up without registering for the shot, the AP noted.

Nearly 22,000 people reportedly lined up at vaccination centers in Manila before dawn and some groups resorted to “rowdily removing barricades,” resulting in police being called to halt vaccinations and asking people to return home.

“We cannot allow our national immunization program to become superspreader events, especially given the threat posed by the delta variant,” the Department of Health said of the disorder, according to the AP.

Officials reportedly urged residents to be wary of misinformation and told them to adhere to announcements made by government sources, noting that unvaccinated residents would be allowed to leave their homes in the event of a medical emergency or if they needed to purchase essential items.

The Philippine government rolled out a vaccination campaign in March and has since fully vaccinated nearly 10.2 million Filipinos, the AP reported.