Around 7 out of 10 Filipinos consider the overall safety of the vaccine before deciding to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a survey conducted by Church-run Radio Veritas released on Wednesday showed.

According to the Veritas Truth Survey, 67 percent of respondents answered "safety" when asked: "What is your primary (Top 1) consideration when deciding on whether or not you would be vaccinated against COVID-19?"

This was followed by efficacy at 17%, country of manufacture at 8%, testimony of early users at 6%, and purpose of use at 2%.

"Reported side effects in mainstream media and other online sources coupled with our country's past social experiences on the use of vaccines might have contributed to the results of this survey," said Veritas in a statement.

Brother Clifford T. Sorita, VTS head, said the government should provide the public with easily understandable scientifically based information and ensure that concerns are addressed early and often to build trust and confidence in the vaccination efforts.

"Our government should take a unified leadership role to improve trust around the vaccine which means that issues and controversies surrounding our vaccination plan must be minimized, if not eradicated, if we desire such implementation to be successful," he said.

Father Anton Pascual, president of Radio Veritas, said the vaccination initiatives must prioritize those who are most in need.

"Vaccines must not be allocated first to those who are wealthy, powerful, and influential for such would be a great moral and social tragedy," he said.

Conducted from January 4 to 22, 2021, the online survey on the COVID-19 vaccination used a stratified sample of 1,200 respondents nationwide for a +/- 3% margin of error.

The respondents' answers were gathered through a text-based and online data gathering process.