NCCA: Many Indigenous Peoples still hesitant to get COVID-19 jabs

Many Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the country remain skeptical about receiving the COVID-19 vaccines, an official of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) said Monday.

NCCA’s National Committee on Central Cultural Communities Head Pablito Gonzales said that only 40% to 50% of IPs are estimated to have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

He attributed the hesitancy to the beliefs of some of the IPs that they could overcome the COVID-19 pandemic without having to receive the vaccines.

“Marami pa rin actually ang hesitant magpa-vaccinate (Many IPs actually still hesitant to get vaccinated),” Gonzales said in a public briefing.

“Medyo may hesitancy sila dahil para sa kanila, meron silang indigenous knowledge, system and practices, and spirituality na kaya nilang i-combat itong mga pandemiya katulad ng COVID-19,” he added.

(They have vaccine hesitancy because, in their minds, they have indigenous knowledge, systems and practices, and spirituality that they can combat these pandemics like that of COVID-19.)

Despite this, Gonzales said that they are continuously encouraging IP communities to get the jabs to protect themselves from COVID-19.

He said the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Department of Health (DOH) are also educating the IPs residing in mountainous areas about the protection elicited from the vaccines. — DVM, GMA News