Vaccine supply is ‘biggest problem,’ Binay says after Duterte’s threat to arrest vaccine ‘skeptics’

Sen. Nancy Binay (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — “Vaccine supply is the biggest problem,” so said Senator Nancy Binay after President Rodrigo Duterte warned that those refusing COVID-19 vaccination may be arrested.

“May problema tayo sa supply. It’s not as if ayaw ng mga kababayan natin magpabakuna,” Binay said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel Tuesday when asked about Duterte’s warning.

Binay noted that there are Filipinos who line up at vaccination centers early in the morning to ensure they receive their vaccine that day.

“Madaling araw pa lang pumipila na sila dun sa vaccination centers para ‘di sila abutan ng cut-off,” she said.

“So at this point, I think vaccine hesitancy is not the problem, vaccine supply is the biggest problem so we need to arrest that,” she added.

Nevertheless, Binay acknowledged that vaccine hesitancy among the public is still a present problem which needs to be addressed in the government’s inoculation program.

Last November 2020, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that only 66 percent were willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“But for me yung urgent need right now is to have more supply of the vaccine,” she stressed.

The percentage went down in a more recent SWS survey with only 32 percent of respondents saying they would be willing to be vaccinated.

Other surveys also showed similar numbers, with most respondents being concerned about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines.

The government has administered over seven million vaccine doses as of Monday, according to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Of that number, only 1.9 million have been fully vaccinated or have received their second vaccine dose.

EDV