Drilon urges gov’t to boost public’s confidence on COVID-19 vaccine

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Franklin Drilon on Wednesday said that the government should further educate the public to boost confidence on the effectiveness and benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine, with multiple drug companies already successful in creating mass doses of the immunization drug.

The Senate Minority Leader, in a statement, cited research findings from University of the Philippines OCTA that only 25 percent of respondents from Metro Manila are willing to get vaccinated when it becomes available in the country.

“It shows the urgency to strengthen the people’s confidence in vaccines and the need for the government to adhere to a science-based process in deciding which vaccines to bring in. Public confidence is critical to the successful inoculation of our people,” said Drilon.

“The government must address this high vaccine hesitancy. The reluctance to participate in COVID-19 immunization program, if not immediately addressed, will spell trouble in the future and can jeopardize efforts to contain the pandemic.”

Of the 600 people surveyed, which were aged 18 years and above, 28% said that they would not get the vaccine while 47% of the respondents are still undecided whether they want to get vaccinated.

Drilon said that it is highly critical to maintain a high level of vaccination rate for at least 60 million Filipinos—a goal the government has for the next three to five years.

He added that the fracas regarding the unauthorized vaccination of several members of the Presidential Security Group just compounded the public’s distrust and confusion.

“We must overcome this growing distrust and hesitancy. We can achieve this by being transparent and by providing Filipinos proper information on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines that we will use in the country,” said Drilon.

“We must get the best vaccines. Buy substandard vaccines, people will refuse vaccination and we will never be able to get out of this pandemic.”

JE