COVID-19 vaccinations remain a "major challenge" in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ( BARMM), its Interior and Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbonb said on Monday.

During the ''Laging Handa'' public briefing, Sinarimbonb admitted that the local government is experiencing difficulties in convincing their constituents to get vaccinated.

"We tap the sectors which we think are influential here. Second is the geography. We are having difficulties because we have Island municipalities that are really far, like in Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Basilan," he said.

"It is hard to reach these communities because we have to travel by boat, when we arrive there we also have to prepare the whole team in case of an adverse effect in the vaccination," Sinarimbonb explained.

"That is the big challenge to us, our vaccination rate is very low in areas with geographical challenges," he added.

However, Sinarimbonb noted that the region has a low COVID-19 infection rate.

"The total cumulative cases (are) just 14,951; but the recovery rate is high with 13,831 while the death toll is 586," he said. Robina Asido/DMS