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The anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin eclipsed vaccine registration in terms of Google searches among Filipinos according to a study.

Meta-search platform iPrice found out that Ivermectin tallied 224,110 searches in March 2021 as compared to the 1,430 for vaccine registration during the same month.

“The number of Google search volume of vaccine registrations from January to March (2,070) only accounts for 0.0047% of the country's Google population,” iPrice wrote in its report.

“Moreover, this data seems to be backed up by Pulse Asia's survey, which revealed that 6 out of 10 Filipinos don't want to get vaccinated against the coronavirus due to doubts about the vaccines' safety, efficacy, and necessity.”

It further added, “This could be problematic for the country's efforts to eradicate the virus, as studies show that an estimate of 50-80% of the population needs to be inoculated to achieve herd immunity.

“However, WHO mentions the percentage to achieve herd immunity varies with each disease. For instance, measles requires 95% of the population to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.”

Ivermectin is the anti-parasitic drug commonly used on animals.

The drug has been hogging the spotlight as of late after some camps claimed that it is an effective treatment against COVID-19.

Reputable health bodies, however, have not endorsed the drug and cautioned the public from using it due to the absence of sufficient evidence on its efficacy against COVID-19.

Merck, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug, has also come out to discourage the public from using Ivermectin as a drug to combat the coronavirus.

Google searches on oxygen tanks have also surged by 115% in March 2021 compared to February 2021.

“Searches on oxygen tanks have reached an all-time high of 39,160 throughout the year (from March 2020 to March 2021),” the report stated.

“This trend has happened in 2020 as well when searches also surged during the first wave in 2020, with an average of 24,277 searches from July to September, then tapered off as the daily cases declined.”

The study provides a peek at the mindset of the public as the pandemic continues to drag on.

“Many Filipinos are desperate for treatment and security as not all have the means to be treated in hospitals,” said the report.

“It's safe to say that everyone just wants the virus to end, but this is harder to achieve when many Filipinos are reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“These figures alone show that daily cases may dramatically decline once mass vaccination begins. For now, however, there is an urgent call to educate Filipinos about the COVID-19 vaccine.”

Take a look at some of our local celebrities who already got their COVID-19 jabs: