'Fake news' part of why elderly won't get COVID-19 jabs — DOH
MANILA, Philippines — A health official on Wednesday attributed false information about COVID-19 vaccines as among reasons why the elderly are hesitant to get the jabs, with only a small number of the priority group fully inoculated.
Senior citizens are second in line to be vaccinated under the government's list as they are more vulnerable to contracting the novel coronavirus disease.
But four months since efforts began, only 8.90% or 736,519 have completed their second dose, per data presented by Dr. Nina Castillo-Carandang.
That figure is out of the 8,276,948 senior citizens in total that the country is targeting to vaccinate. Some 29.32%, or 2,426,949 have received their first shot.
Carandang said a health department survey showed those hesitant had a lack of trust in clinical trials, their concerns on possible side effects were not discussed, and on fake news about the jabs.
"Explanations and discussions are still lacking," she said in Filipino. "There are also a lot of erroneous information circulating."
Vaccine hesitancy is among the challenges the Philippines has had to face in its rollout, with several surveys in past months showing many were still unwilling to be jabbed.
The DOH survey had around 2,000 respondents, with 1,014 of of them unvaccinated. Some 88% said they would be inoculated, 10% were unsure, and 2% said they would not.
"Misinformation and gossip is spreading faster than accurate and scientific information about the vaccines," said Carandang, a member of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group.
Broken down per areas, Metro Manila had the most number of fully vaccinated senior citizens at 306,506, with 643,061 with their first dose.
Davao Region, meanwhile, stood with the lowest with complete shots at 13,537, while 139,442 have received their initial dose.
Nationwide, only 2.60% of Filipinos are fully inoculated as of July 5, or 2.86 million. That remains a fraction of the government's goal this year to vaccinate up to 70 million of its citizens. — Christian Deiparine
A new thread on the Philippines' vaccination program in 2021 in the government's revised objective to reach "population protection." Bookmark our COVID-19 and Vaccination Dashboard for the latest figures on the pandemic in the Philippines. — Main image: The STAR/Michael Varcas, file
The city government of Valenzuela City announces that it is temporarily suspending the use of Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccines as they wait for more vaccine supplies.
ADVISORY: Pansamantalang inihinto ang pagbabakuna ng Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccine sa Valenzuela habang naghihintay ng karagdagang supply. (????: Valenzuela LGU) pic.twitter.com/j4yO52jgMN
— PTVph (@PTVph) August 7, 2023
Pasig City government announces the schedule of COVID-19 vaccination in the city from July 15 until July 28.
It advises residents that first, second dose and first and 2nd booster shots are available on a first come, first serve basis in its designated vaccination sites.
Among the available vaccine brands is Sinovac for 6 years old and above. It adds that there are no Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines yet for residents age 12 and above.
Schedule ng Pagbabakuna sa Pasig City |07/25/2023-07/28/2023 | First Come, First Served Basis
— Pasig Info (@PasigInfo) July 24, 2023
Tingnan ang material para sa vaccination sites kung saan makakapagpa - 1st at 2nd dose, at 1st at 2nd booster shot; at kung ano ang mga dapat dalhin sa araw ng pagbabakuna
1/3 pic.twitter.com/yqKG0S41CM
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to lead the rollout of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccination at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. — The STAR/Helen Flores
President Marcos will lead the launch of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccination at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City on Wednesday morning. (Photo courtesy of MPC pool) | @helenmflores pic.twitter.com/wbB2An7xgg
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) June 21, 2023
The Department of Health reminds public that they can still avail of the COVID-19 booster and bivalent booster. It reposted an infographic that determines when it is best to get the first two boosters and the bivalent booster.
Senior citizens and frontline health workers may now get their second booster shots, particularly mRNA jabs such as Moderna and Pfizer, the Department of Health announces. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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