4 out of 10 Filipinos want to take jabs: Poll
MANILA: Four out of 10 Filipinos, or 43 per cent particularly those from Metro Manila, now want to take coronavirus vaccine jabs as the government ramped up its campaign to prevent a surge in infections, a private pollster reported on Monday.
Pulse Asia noted the 43 per cent represented a significant jump of 27 per cent from the 16 per cent of Filipinos who admited COVID-19 “vaccine reluctance” in a separate survey undertaken last February.
Pulse Asia reported that respondents from Metro Manila, composed of 16 cities and one town with a total population of close to 14 million, accounted for 55 per cent of those now willing to take their vaccine shots.
But in the same survey, 36 per cent of the respondents also admited they were not willing to be vaccinated, citing three reasons, namely: they are not sure of its safety, it might not be effective and vaccine is not needed to combat COVID-19.
The survey findings appeared to confirm the statements of senior government officials like Secretary Carlito Galvez, the vaccine czar, of a significant shit in the number of Filipinos now willing to take their COVID-19 jabs.
According to Pulse Asia, it conducted the survey from June 7 to 16 that covered 2,400 respondents aged 18 and over in face-to-face interviews in Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon as well as in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Also on Monday, Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje reported that as of July 11, the government administered more than 13 million doses of vaccines since it rolled out its nationwide campaign against the virus on March 1.
Of the total, 3.5 million have been fully vaccinated, meaning they already completed their two doses required, while the remaining 9.6 million had their first dose. “Fast despite litle vaccine supply,” she earlier told a media briefing in a mix of Filipino and English.
Cabotaje also revealed that there has been a noticeable increase in the number of Filipinos willing to be vaccinated at a seven-day average of 170,000 to 250,000 particularly in Metro Manila, officially known as the National Capital Region, and neighbouring provinces such as Cavite, Rizal, Laguna and Batangas in Southern Luzon as well as Bulacan and Pampanga in Central Luzon.
In particular, the government gave priority atention to Metro Manila which enabled it to shed its image as the epicentre of the pandemic.