Some doctors aired their opposition to the Department of Health's (DOH) "brand agnostic" policy, saying it will cause more vaccine hesitancy.
On Wednesday, May 19, DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje announced that the DOH will implement a policy in which the local governments will not announce in advance the brand of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) doses they will roll out in vaccination sites.
Cabotaje said those who do not like the vaccines that are given during that time may "go to the end of the line."
The new policy aims to avoid similar incidents to what the local governments of Manila and Parañaque dealt with early this week. Crowds flocked to inoculation sites in those cities where Pfizer-made vaccines are being offered.
In a tweet, Dr. Gene Nisperos of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine said the new measure will only aggravate the problem.
"The issues are vaccine hesitancy and vaccine preference. What is this DOH measure trying to address? Wala (none). People need proper information to make appropriate decisions. Baka mas marami pa ang hindi magpabakuna," Nisperos wrote.
"Naniniwala talaga kayo na mas magpapabakuna ang mga tao kapag hindi nila alam ang ibabakuna sa kanila? Yun ngang alam ng tao yung ibabakuna sa kanola eh hirap kayo manghikayat, yun pa kayang hindi nila alam? (Do you really believe that people would want to get vaccinated when they don't know which brand they'll be getting? Even those who know which brand they'll get are hard to persuade, how much more those who have no idea?)" he lamented.
Physician Gideo Lasco underscored that in order to build vaccine confidence, the public needs more information.
"The principle of informed consent is so fundamental in medical ethics and I am shocked that the DOH wants Filipinos to sign up for vaccination not knowing which brand they'll get," Lasco said.
"Even when it comes to the brand of vaccines, government officials are doubling down on their disempowering discourse of 'sumunod na lang kayo' (just follow), expecting the people to follow them blindly without question," he added
Meanwhile, Filipino-speaking Australian doctor-vlogger Adam Smith or "Doc Adam" echoed that the public has the right to know which vaccine they are getting.
"It looks like you will know which vaccine you'll get pag andun ka na sa (when you get to the) hub but if it's not the one want, pwede naman umayaw (you can refuse). But this is still not good kasi (because_ it still creates hesitancy also, nakakatakot na nga lumabas then pagdating mo , uuwi ka lang pala (it's scary to go outside then when you arrive at the center, you would just want to go home)," he said.
"If people have doubts, address their questions. May data naman eh (We have data). Hindi yung pipila ka tapos malalaman mo na lang doon. Hindi naman mawawala yung doubts mo sa surprise na brand eh. May chnace na umuwi na lang yung tao, nalagay pa at risk kasi lumabas para sana magpabakuna (Not finding out which vaccine brand you will get after queueing. People's doubt won't disappear when the brand is a surprise. There's a chance that they will just go home, which would put them at risk because they went out to get vaccinated)," another physician Jai Cabajar said.