MANILA — Filipinos who would refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 should just "stay home", President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday, as authorities struggled to shore up public confidence in the jabs.

Fears on the effect of vaccines have "no basis" because no one has died from the jabs, Duterte said in a taped speech that aired on Tuesday.

"Maniwala kayo sa gobyerno, maniwala kayo sa mga tao na nilagay n'yo d'yan sa opisina nila... Maniwala kayo, Diyos ko po kasi kung hindi, hindi kayo makatulong," Duterte said, addressing the public.

(Believe the government, believe the people you placed in office. Believe, my God, because if not, you are not helping.)

"We cannot force you. But then, sana, kung ayaw n'yong magpabakuna, huwag na kayong lumabas ng bahay para hindi kayo manghawa ng ibang tao," he added.

(We cannot force you. But then, I hope that if you fo want to get vaccinated, don't leave your house so that you won't infect others.)

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Only 1 in 4 Manila residents are willing to take the vaccines, according to a survey by the OCTA research group, while nearly half of Filipinos polled by Pulse Asia are hesitant to get inoculated.

A separate survey by Pulse Asia revealed 6 in 10 Filipinos were hesitant to take COVID-19 shots.

At least 70 percent of a population should get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. This is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection, according to the World Health Organization.

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The Philippines has so far received 7.779 million COVID-19 shots, the bulk of which is from Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech. Authorities have administered at least 2,959,829 of these doses.

• Philippines: COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker

Video courtesy of PTV