CONVINCING PINOYS TO TAKE THE SHOT

So, the first doses of Covid-19 vaccines are here.

Are we supposed to be jumping with joy knowing we could finally lick this menace?

Ah-ah. Not so fast. Fact is, we shouldn’t even be throwing those protective masks away. No, not yet.

As with so much else in this pandemic, there isn’t an easy answer for exactly when we can start to relax. After months of exhausting isolation, widespread economic pain, and an extraordinary toll on human life and health, no one could blame us for yearning for that moment when we could eventually put everything behind.

You see, the government rollout program has only just begun following that historic welcome of the China-donated Sinovac vaccines last Sunday.

For all intents and purposes, no matter how our biases are with regard to the choices of jabs we have at our discretion, it behooves upon us to put our trust in the program.

It is our best path out of the crisis.

Early evidence points toward vaccines reducing transmission of Covid-19, but by exactly how much remains unclear. It has even stirred up debates on how cautious we should be when talking about the power of the vaccines.

What message should people get about Covid-19 vaccines and how should they behave when they get them?

That question will have to be set aside in favor of a more urgent undertaking now that we have the vaccines in our midst.

And don’t be surprised. The next hurdle after finally jumpstarting the rollout plans could probably be how to convince millions of Filipinos that they want the shot.

For sure, in the coming days, even months, our Covid-19 vaccine supplies are bound to grow, but will there be enough takers to achieve that herd immunity we’ve all been talking about?

Herd immunity, as we all know, is that particular threshold where even people who haven’t been vaccinated or infected before are protected because so many of the people around them are immune.

But that, we think, is the real challenge. Surveys done prior to the arrival of the China jabs show that only 19 percent of the population are amenable to being given the shots. The Dengvaxia scare, for sure, has something to do with this and we can’t blame our people.

Studies reveal that a majority of

Pinoys have even voiced skepticism in the rollout plans. This hesitancy could be a deal breaker as our local health experts have warned. And if these people don’t change their minds in the coming months, they could doom any chance the Philippines has of reaching herd immunity.

Getting people to take the jabs, we fear, is going to be a primary issue, so much so that government response at this point should be focused on how to fire up public confidence on the program. Issues, such as the efficacy and misplaced bias against the Chinese vaccines, ought to be handled well by our government responders.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and testing chief Vince Dizon started this campaign on the right foot by having themselves vaccinated on the very first day of the rollout. More government men ought to follow. And if Vice President Leni Robredo is true to her words, she should also inspire her followers by getting a crack at the Sinovac jabs.

This is no time for discrediting each other. What we need at this point is action. And as President Duterte has explained, Leni, being much younger, should do what she wants Digong to do. No ifs and buts.

After all, we are all in this together. 2022 can wait. Let’s finish off this virus and its variants first, before they finish us all.

“No matter how our biases are with regard to the choices of jabs we have at our discretion, it behooves upon us to put our trust in the program.

“Getting people to take the jabs, we fear, is going to be a primary issue.