MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said it is eyeing the help of local government units to conduct an information campaign that would counter false claims about potential coronavirus vaccines.
The government faces the difficult task of conducting a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, which relies heavily on public trust that vaccines are both effective and safe, as it re-establishes trust in vaccinations two years after the highly politicized Dengvaxia controversy.
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Childhood immunization rate in the Philippines declined sharply from 87% in 2014 to 68% in 2019, resulting in measles outbreak and the re-emergence of polio last year. Both diseases are vaccine preventable.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency is preparing an information drive that would explain vaccination to the public and counter false claims about COVID-19 vaccines.
“We are preparing for this. We know there are a lot of those anti-vaxxers and we are releasing information. We have already finished our communication plan so we can start disseminating information,” Vergeire said in Filipino in a media briefing Monday.
Before the country will start inoculating people with vaccine against COVID-19, the department will explain to the public the advantages and possible adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines. Experts said that expected side effects of vaccination such as swelling where the injection was given or sore arm are signs that the body’s immune system is working.
Vergeire also said the DOH wants to engage with local governments to aid the agency in the information campaign.
“We would want to engage local government officials so they can help us in preparing communities for the deployment of vaccines,” she said.
The mobilization of communities is expected to start by the third week of December.
A Social Weather Stations survey in September found that 66% of adult Filipinos said they were willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, higher than the 42% of respondents who were willing to get Dengvaxia vaccine in 2019.
The government is eyeing to vaccinate around 24.7 million Filipinos in the first part of the vaccination program against COVID-19. The country's 1.76 million health workers are first in the list of priority vaccine beneficiaries.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in an interview on ANC's "Headstart" Monday that in a "best case scenario," the country may start inoculating citizens by the end of first quarter of 2021 up to the start of the second quarter.