Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday urged authorities to create the best strategy that would build public confidence in vaccination.

Hontiveros made the call following reports that 31 percent of Filipinos are unwilling to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The senator said the Department of Health (DOH) and local government units (LGUs) should work closely with barangay health workers of indigent communities to create strategies to improve public confidence in vaccination and respond to the vaccine anxieties of people in the area.

She said the role of the barangay health workers (BHWs) are crucial in addressing vaccine misinformation and miscommunication.

“Many people have become distrustful of vaccines, despite scientific evidence that it can save their lives. It is imperative that we educate people, not only through the media. We need to bring the positive conversation around vaccines to their immediate social circles, down to individual households. Our BHWs can be the starting point for that,” Hontiveros said.

Together with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the senator said the DOH and LGUs can mount a “mega” vaccine confidence project in 2021 to broadcast vaccine education programs suited to different regions.

She also said the government should explore all forms of media, from television, radio and hopefully even text messages in informing the public regarding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

“Vaccine confidence should be our serious 2021 national public health project. Not just for the COVID-19 vaccine, but for all other vaccines, existing and future. It is one of the most important ways to secure the health of the public,” she stressed.

The lawmaker cited the measles and polio outbreak that resurged earlier in the year despite the existing vaccines.

“These are harmful but preventable diseases that could have been controlled and even eradicated with vaccine confidence. It is our responsibility to the public to ensure all existing measures to keep them safe and healthy,” she stressed.

“Trust and information is so important in a public health crisis. The best way to start the new year is to slowly earn the public’s trust again and to use that to pave the way to health for all,” she further said.