The government joined private pharmaceutical stores and clinics recently to launch the “Resbakuna sa Botika” program. This program aims to encourage more fully vaccinated Filipino to avail of their booster shots.
Perceptions in 2021
Compared to what the situation was last year, this is already a marked improvement. only three out of 10 Filipinos were willing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus according to a Social Weather Stations survey published in May 2021. Only 32% of adult Filipinos welcomed the idea of vaccination according to the survey conducted from April 28 to May 2, 2021.
The top reason cited for those unwilling to get vaccinated was fear of side effects. Thirty-three (33%) percent of adult Filipinos surveyed then were unwilling, while 35% were uncertain.
Respondents were asked, “How much or little is your confidence that the government vaccine experts are thoroughly evaluating the vaccines to be used in the Philippines against Covid-19?” Fifty-one (51%) percent of adults replied that they were confident while 31% were uncertain. Seventeen (17%) percent were not confident.
Further improvement in vaccine willingness
OCTA Research also reported that the vaccine hesitancy dropped nationwide after 5% of respondents said they are not willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This marks another significant decline from the 22% vaccine hesitancy during their survey conducted during the third quarter of 2021 from September 11 to 16.
The OCTA Research survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews with a sample size of 1,200 respondents aged 18 and above. It utilized a sampling design that allows for a 95% level of confidence with a margin of error of ±3%.
There have been 3,475,293 COVID-19 cases in the Philippines as of January 27, 2022. The recoveries have reached 3,191,219 with 53,664 deaths.
These results do not reflect the surge in cases brought on by the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Reports of the first examples of the Omicron variant entering the country began in early 2022. The highly contagious Omicron variant is credited for the surge in cases over the past few weeks.
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