Information campaign key to declining vaccine hesitancy

MANILA – The decline in vaccine hesitancy is a reflection of the success of information dissemination and government efforts to make coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines accessible to all, Malacañang said on Friday.

A 2021 Social Weather Stations survey conducted from December 12 to 16 found that only eight percent of adult Filipinos are unwilling to get vaccinated, down from the 18 percent who were hesitant to get jabbed in September 2021.

The result was also much lower than the June 2021 survey that showed 21 percent of Filipinos were skeptical to receive Covid-19 jabs and the May 2021 survey, where 33 percent of the respondents said they do not want to get vaccinated.

“Senyales ito ng matagumpay nating pagtutulungan, tayong lahat — kayo na nasa media na nagbibigay ng tamang impormasyon, and then of course government making sure na nandyan ‘yung supply sa lahat ng region at ginagawa po natin ang lahat ng hakbang para maging accessible po ang bakuna sa lahat ng areas dito sa ating bansa, and of course, ang taong bayan (This is a sign of our successful cooperation — you, the media, who disseminate right information, then of course the government in making sure that there are enough supplies for the regions and we are doing everything that we can to make these vaccines accessible to all, and of course, the public),” Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a statement on Friday.

The Palace official also urged the public to help sustain the momentum and convince the remaining unvaccinated population to get jabbed.

“Malinaw po na habang dumadami po ang nagpapabakuna at nakikita ng ating mga kababayan na mabisa at ligtas ang mga ito, anuman brand ito, bumababa po ang tinatawag na vaccine hesitancy (It’s clear that as the number of the vaccinated increases and the public sees that it is effective and safe, no matter what brand, vaccine hesitancy also decreases),” he said.

More than 56.8 million are now fully inoculated while 65 million have received at least the first dose, based on the latest data from the National Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard.

The significant number of unvaccinated prompted the national government and some local government units to impose mobility restrictions among those who have yet to receive their shots, such as the implementation of the “no vaccine, no ride” policy.

Department of Transportation Undersecretary Artemio Tuazon Jr. on Friday reiterated in a statement that the intervention is implemented only in Metro Manila while the region is under Alert Level 3.

Unvaccinated workers are allowed to ride in public transportation as long as they belong to industries that are allowed to operate under the quarantine classification.

Malacañang also warned that there are no existing Covid-19 “vaccination exemption cards”.

“Hindi po totoo. Wala pong ganun. No document like this is being issued by government (That doesn’t exist. No document like this is being issued by the government),” Nograles said.

“Kung may mga taong mag-aalok sa inyo ng ganitong card, agad makipag-ugnayan sa mga otoridad sa inyong lugar at isuplong ang ganitong gawain. Pwede rin pong tumawag sa hotline 8888 para isumbong ang ipinagbabawal na gawaing ito. Maliban sa peke, hindi po ito nakakatulong sa ating laban kontra Covid-19 (If there are individuals offering you this kind of card, coordinate with local authorities immediately or call hotline 8888 to report. Aside from being fake, this does not help in our effort to beat Covid-19),” he added.