WHO: Having preferred COVID-19 vaccine brand is not vaccine hesitancy

Having a preference for one COVID-19 vaccine over another is not vaccine hesitancy, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said Monday.

WHO country representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe made the clarification when asked for the best practices in terms of promoting vaccine confidence.

“What we are seeing now is that people eagerly ready to receive vaccines and it is in some situations, local governments unable to keep up with the demand. So, it’s not actually an issue of vaccine hesitancy. There are many, in some places, [a] preference for brand A or B of a vaccine, that should not be interpreted as vaccine hesitancy,” he said during Laging Handa briefing.

“We don’t see a lot of vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines,” he added.

The government has implemented a "brand agnostic" policy which prevents local authorities from disclosing the vaccine brand ahead of the day of the inoculation, following crowding in vaccination centers where the Pfizer-BioNTech shot was being administered.

It remains to be seen, however, if this policy will encourage vaccine confidence.

A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Monday also showed that over 63% of Filipinos trust COVID-19 vaccines made in the United States.

The Philippine Food and Drug Administration has issued emergency use authorizations for the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Sputnik V, Moderna, Covaxin, and Janssen vaccines.

Of these brands, US-made Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines registered the highest efficacy rates at 95% and 94%, respectively.

Supplies of the Moderna, Covaxin and Janssen vaccinea doses have yet to be delivered to the Philippines.

Government and health officials, however, have repeatedly emphasized that all vaccine brands issued emergency use authorization by the Philippine FDA are all safe and effective, and prevent severe COVID-19 infection. — BM, GMA News