CBCP execs willing to get vaccinated vs. COVID-19 in public

Some officials of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Thursday expressed willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots in public to boost the confidence of Filipinos  with the inoculation.

In a press conference, CBCP president Archbishop Romulo G. Valles said he would take any COVID-19 vaccine that will be offered considering the urgency of the situation amid the public health emergency.

“If I can wait, then I’ll wait for a good vaccine. But if the situation really like it is now, you cannot wait for a better vaccine, I would take any vaccine offered,” Valles said.

Citing the advice of molecular biologist and moral theologian Father Nicanor Austriaco, Valles said even the vaccines with 50% efficacy would still be beneficial as they lower the risk of hospitalization.

Valles said the vaccination against COVID-19 was discussed during the recent plenary assembly of CBCP members.

CBCP vice president Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David said that Austriaco encouraged bishops to get vaccinated in public to allay the fear and doubt of the public about the vaccination.

“Father Austriaco encouraged the bishops to allow themselves to be vaccinated publicly perhaps even on television so that we can encourage people and remove their fears of vaccination. This is really going to be very helpful for us as a country,” he said.

“It is important to depoliticize vaccines that we listen to our scientists and what their advice would be,” he added.

In his visit to the local government officials in Quezon City on Thursday, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. underscored the importance of religious groups in encouraging Filipinos to get inoculated.

"Napakalaking advantage po 'yun dahil alam po natin napaka-impluwensya ng ating mga religious (sector) and it will give more confidence to our people to take the vaccines," Galvez said.

A survey of the OCTA Research showed that only 25% of people in the National Capital Region are willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

A separate survey by Pulse Asia showed that 47% of Filipinos were not inclined to get a COVID-19 jab, mostly due to safety reasons.

Experts from the World Health Organization said that 65% to 70% of the population need to get vaccinated to reach herd immunity from the disease.

According to WHO, herd immunity or population immunity is a concept used for vaccination in which a population can be protected from a certain virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached. --KBK, GMA News