Gov’t to hire ‘social mobilizers’ for areas with low vaccine uptake

MANILA, Philippines — The government will hire “social mobilizers” to inform the community of the benefits and possible side effects of vaccines before conducting house-to-house inoculation in areas with low uptake, National Vaccination Operations Center chairperson and Health Undersecretary Myna Cabotaje said Saturday.

“Ang nakita nating kailangan natin ay magkaroon tayo ng social mobilizers. Ibig sabihin, bago pumunta ‘yung maghouse-to-house ay kailangan may mag-iinform sa community ano ‘yung mga side effect, ano ‘yung mga bisa, etc. para makumbinsi silang magpabakuna,” she said at the Laging Handa public briefing.

(We saw the need for social mobilizers. Before vaccinators conduct house-to-house vaccination, social mobilizers should inform the community of the side effects and benefits to convince them to get vaccinated.)

“So by next week, magkakaroon tayo, sa tulong ng ating mga partners katulad ng Unicef through the Relief International, maghahire po tayo ng social mobilizers para sa mga areas na mababa ang uptake ng bakuna,” she added.

“So by next week, with the help of our partners like Unicef through Relief International, we will hire social mobilizers who will be deployed in areas that have low vaccine uptake.)

The country has so far vaccinated 67 million Filipinos as of April 1, according to Cabotaje. Meanwhile, over 12 million individuals have so far received booster shots.

/MUF