Fear of adverse events top reason for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy —DOH poll

The fear of possible adverse events following immunization (AEFI) is the top reason for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, a Department of Health (DOH) poll found.

In an online briefing on Monday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said over 43,000 individuals belonging to the A1 to C priority groups for vaccination participated in an online DOH survey whose full details have yet to be released.

“Ang lumabas diyan sa survey na ‘yan, ang top three na reasons why hesitant sila magpabakuna, una, ‘yun pa ring posible na maging epekto sa kanilang katawan, ‘yung adverse events,” Vergeire said.

(The survey found the top three reasons for vaccine hesitancy. First is the possible effect on their bodies or adverse events.)

Vergeire reiterated that less than 1% of COVID-19 vaccine recipients have reported experiencing serious AEFIs while only 1.10% felt minor side effects. 

She said “negative information that they hear circulating, especially from the social media platforms” was the second top reason for hesitancy, followed by concerns on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

A recent Social Weather Stations survey similarly found that only 32% of Filipinos are willing to get a jab due to fear of possible death, distrust of COVID-19 vaccines, and hearing negative feedback on vaccines. 

Vergeire said the government’s vaccine education campaign has been geared towards addressing these concerns. Vaccine experts also regularly attend DOH town hall meetings.

“Sinasabi rin ng ating mga eksperto that we cannot really communicate our way out para tumaas ang pagbabakuna. Meron din po tayong kailangan tingnan sa parte naman ng supply side o sa amin sa gobyerno na ‘yung access na parte,” she said.

(Our experts also said that we cannot really communicate our way out of vaccine hesitancy. The government also has to look into the supply side or the access part.)

“Isa po ‘yan sa tinitingnan natin ngayon, together with the vaccine cluster, kung paano pa natin mai-improve ang access ng mga tao dito sa pagbabakuna natin para mas dumami pa ang magpapabakuna,” she added.

(That’s one of the things that we’re working on together with the vaccine cluster: how to improve access to COVID-19 vaccines to increase the number of vaccinations.)

The Philippines has vaccinated over 3.4 million people as of May 25, still far from the government’s target of inoculating 58 million individuals in COVID-19 hotspots this year. — RSJ, GMA News