The National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 welcomed on Friday, July 16 the results of two recent surveys which showed that the willingness of Filipinos to get vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has increased.

Based on a national survey conducted by independent pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) from June 23 to 26, 45 percent of Filipino adults said they will "surely/probably" get a vaccine against the COVID-19. This result was higher compared to the 32 percent recorded by the SWS in May.

Furthermore, those who said that they will "surely not" get the vaccine dropped from 26 percent to 18 percent, while those who said they were "uncertain' about getting vaccinated decreased from 35 percent to 24 percent.

Pulse Asia, on the other hand, reported that vaccine confidence among Filipinos shot up to 43 percent in June 2021 from a low of 16 percent in February 2021.

"We are pleased to see that more Filipinos are willing to get vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine," Galvez said.

"This is very important as we have secured and will continue to get more vaccine supply in the next few months including donations through COVAX and foreign governments," he added.

As of writing, the country has already received 22,930,710 doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

Galvez said around 77 million Filipinos out of the total population of 109 million are being targeted for inoculation before the end of the year to achieve herd immunity.

He emphasized the crucial role of the local government units (LGUs) and private sector in the national vaccination program as it aspires to provide a "happier Christmas for all Filipinos."

Aside from the vaccination being done by the LGUs, Galvez said that the "Taskforce T3" is also helping the national government in expanding the inoculation program by buying vaccines on their own and spearheading the vaccination of economic frontliners under the A4 priority sector.

Taskforce T3 is a coalition of private companies that assist the government in fast-tracking the vaccination rollout. One of its key campaigns is the "Ingat Angat, Bakuna Lahat," a vaccination advocacy that aims to encourage the public to get the jab.

T3 recently launched a massive vaccine education campaign under the "Ingat Angat, Bakuna Lahat" umbrella program to raise the public's vaccine acceptance.

The program includes video and radio commercials, outdoor advertisements, social media campaigns, vaccine awareness toolkits for companies, and the "Smart Bakuna Benefits" promo which provides additional incentives for vaccinated Filipinos from over 200 participating restaurant brands.