The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeing a decrease in vaccine hesitancy with the arrival of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in the country.
"Similar to what we have seen in other countries, we are seeing that as vaccines are introduced, the uptake among the population has been increasing. The Philippines is no different," WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said in a virtual forum Tuesday, March 9.
"Initial apprehension among the population among the safety and efficacy of the vaccines is now clearly declining. Vaccine hesitancy is decreasing and more people want access to the vaccine. We are seeing a similar trend here in the Philippines with the arrival of AstraZeneca and others through COVAX facility," he added.
Abeyasinghe said this development is encouraging.
"We need to continue to work to ensure that a large proportion of the population are protected through the vaccine," he said.
An Octa Research survey released Feb. 24, 2021 showed 46 percent of Filipinos are still unwilling to be vaccinated due to safety concerns, despite the roll-out of town hall meetings and the massive information dissemination drives of the Department of Health.
The Philippine government started its vaccination drive on March 1 with the inoculation of healthcare workers.
Data from DOH showed that as of March 7, the number of HCWs vaccinated is already at 35,669 in 169 vaccination sites.
Of the 463,540 vials or doses distributed, 379,840 CoronaVac and 83,700 AstraZeneca.