MANILA - The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday said it will study giving consideration to those who recently received AstraZeneca coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) jabs in the implementation of the "no vaccination, no ride"' policy.

"Since November to December last year, andami na nating bakuna (we have a lot of vaccines), different brands but nonetheless, this is also a valid concern and we will raise this one again to the other agencies -- DOTr (Department of Transporation) and DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) -- so that we can come up with the policy with them," DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said in a television interview.

This, as the government has implemented a 30-day grace period for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated workers to ride public transport in Metro Manila starting Wednesday.

However, only fully vaccinated individuals will be allowed in public transport in the region starting February 26.

Given this timeframe, those who were recently inoculated with AstraZeneca jabs as their first dose would have to wait for four to 12 weeks before getting their second dose, much longer than the 28 to 30 days interval of other vaccine brands.

Malaya, meanwhile, advised those who remain unvaccinated to choose from other brands aside from AstraZeneca, as much as possible.

"They must request their LGUs (local government units) to vaccinate them with another brand of Covid-19 vaccine which will allow them to be vaccinated 30 days later so that they will not fall under this problem because if AstraZeneca sila (if they are injected with AstraZeneca) definitely, they will not be fully vaccinated (once the 30-day window ends)," Malaya said.

He is also hoping that this will no longer be a problem as more supplies of various Covid-19 vaccine brands are now available in the country.

Malaya added that the "no vax, no ride" policy could no longer be delayed, hence the decision to come up with a 30-day grace period for the unvaccinated and those partially vaccinated.

"The rationale from the very beginning has always been two things, the first is to protect the unvaccinated themselves and the second is to protect the healthcare system from being overwhelmed," he added.

He also clarified that the "no vax, no ride'' policy will only be implemented under Alert Level 3. (PNA)