The Philippine government assured that Filipinos will be inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine this year. Frontline health workers, senior citizens, indigent population, and uniformed personnel are the priority groups for vaccination according to the Department of Health (DOH).

However, almost 50% of the population are hesitant in getting vaccinated.

In a recent survey conducted by Pulse Asia, a significant number of Filipinos did not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 due to some safety issues. In the data, 55% of respondents from Visayas did not want to get the vaccine, same with 48% in Mindanao, 46% in Luzon, and 41% in the National Capital Region.

Factors for hesitancy include the fear of side effects. Back in 2016, a vaccine for dengue called dengvaxia was rolled out to the public. The vaccine caused major illnesses to children who received a shot, worse, some even died. The dengvaxia rollout was immediately stopped but left many Filipinos scared of vaccines.

Another factor is the cost. Most Filipinos think that the vaccine is expensive. Although the Department of Health (DOH) said that the cost of vaccines for priority groups will be shouldered by the Philippine government, it did not clarify if it will be given for free to non-priority groups. To date, cost of the vaccine has not been fully disclosed.

Filipino professionals from the field of medicine expressed concerns on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, particularly Sinovac. The government is working on purchasing millions of doses from China’s Sinovac. However, the vaccine has not completed clinical trials with only a 50% efficacy rate. The vaccine is also more expensive compared to the ones showing high efficacy such as Pfizer at 95% efficacy, Moderna at 94.1%, and Johnson&Johnson at 85%.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said in an interview that the lack of understanding and information is one of the greatest factors of vaccine hesitancy among the Filipinos. He believes that an effective communication and information drive will clarify confusion on the COVID-19 vaccine.

One of the challenges we are facing amid the pandemic is the lack of confidence for vaccines. In a survey by Pulse Asia, some Filipinos think that vaccines are not necessary to prevent COVID-19. What do you think about this?