Media criticism a call for correct reporting on COVID-19 vaccines –DOH

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday clarified its statement accusing all media organizations of continuous disinformation on COVID-19 vaccines, saying that it was a general appeal to journalists to continue providing accurate information on COVID-19 vaccines and the pandemic.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire issued the statement in response to queries as to what prompted the DOH and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to issue a joint statement calling out “media institutions continuing to publish disinformation on COVID-19 vaccines" and such "misleading information on COVID-19 vaccines does more harm than good to Filipinos.”

“We have already reached out to certain [media] outfits regarding our concerns, and we will continue to work with them to resolve these,” Vergeire said in a statement.

“We appreciate all of you who continue to help us communicate science in the proper context to the general public. Let us continue to stay true to our sacred mission of providing the public correct and actionable information which they can use to protect themselves and their loved ones,” she added.

Vergeire also said that the DOH-DOST joint statement calling out media institutions for “continuous disinformation” was issued in the context of the apparent need to boost vaccine confidence.

“We issued this as a general reminder to all our media partners to ensure that all our efforts are aligned toward our shared goal of hurdling this pandemic quickly, and effectively,” she said.

The DOH-DOST also stated that the COVID-19 vaccine supply in the country was safe. Furthermore, the vaccines were effective and would prevent hospitalizations due to COVID-19.

“We appeal primarily to our media partners to exercise caution when reporting potentially misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines,” Vergeire said as quoted in the DOH-DOST statement.

“Vaccines are safe and vaccines are effective and we all know this. Let us work together to help Filipinos better understand the benefits of vaccines. In times of crisis, vaccines can spell the difference between life and death,” she added.

In a Pulse Asia poll released on March 26, 94% of Filipinos said they were worried about vaccines or their household members getting sick with COVID-19.

However, 61% were also unwilling to take a COVID-19 vaccine.

The same Pulse Asia poll revealed that 23% of Filipinos could not say if they would get a COVID-19 vaccine while only 16% expressed willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot.

The level of refusal to get vaccinated for COVID-19 among social classes reached 68% in class ABC, 59% in class D, and 62% in class E.

The second reason why Filipinos did not want to get a COVID-19 vaccine jab was the worry that it could not be effective at 7%, followed by the belief that a vaccine was not needed to combat COVID-19 (6%).

The government started its COVID-19 vaccination program last March 1. — DVM, GMA News