MANILA, Philippines — Pasig City’s first vaccine recipient has asked Filipinos who are having doubts about receiving vaccines to trust experts and not worry.
Dr. Nerissa Sabarre, head of the city’s COVID-19 referral center, said it was a personal choice hinged on studies and information from experts about vaccines that made her decide to receive Sinovac’s vaccine despite doubts on its efficacy.
“This is a vaccine and this is a big help in our fight against the pandemic. So whatever the vaccine (brand is), what’s important is we have the freedom to choose which vaccines we want,” she said, stressing that protection against the disease is better than none.
Mayor Vico Sotto said Sabarre’s willingness to receive vaccines would help drum up confidence in vaccines.
“When we see she’s safe (after receiving the vaccines) and strong as always, the confidence level is expected to rise,” Sotto said.
Pasig began vaccinating health workers yesterday with only half of the 300 initially scheduled vaccine recipients opting to get injected. Health workers from Pasig City General Hospital and the Children’s Hospital were reportedly afraid of receiving vaccines.
While Sotto said the city would respect their decision to opt out of receiving the Sinovac vaccines, he reiterated his call to trust experts.
“When the Department of Health, doctors, Food and Drug Administration and regulatory counterparts in other countries, and experts say a particular vaccine brand is safe and effective, we can be sure that these are indeed safe and effective,” he said.
The resistance was also understandable, he added, since more data and trial results have yet to come in. He asked the public not to be prejudiced against healthcare workers who are still afraid.