‘It is good that employers have been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. This they do by allocating funds and going out of their way to purchase vaccines… Big companies can do this, but how about the small ones?’
THE President’s adviser on entrepreneurship, Joey Concepcion, has aired an important reminder to the public, and he said it in a succinctly colorful way. Concepcion said getting citizens vaccinated against COVID-19 can be likened to conscripting them to fight a war for the Philippines.
“The country is at war with an invisible enemy and people need to be vaccinated in order to win the war. Our only weapon is the vaccine. If we don’t protect ourselves and those around us, how do we expect to overcome this challenge?”
The official-businessman believes that the only way Filipinos can get through this pandemic is by vaccination, and giving the jabs to the employed sector will expedite the country’s return to economic recovery.
Although most everyone realizes the importance of having the COVID-19 shots, the government’s goal of attaining herd immunity thru a mass vaccination program is difficult to attain. As Concepcion pointed out, vaccines have faced the twin challenges of a slow rollout due to the global vaccine shortage and vaccine hesitancy among Filipinos. The people still remember the great Dengvaxia debacle a couple of years ago, which is being blamed for the deaths of some 200 individuals, mostly children. Many still doubt if the Dengvaxia vaccine’s preventive effects against dengue had outweighed its disadvantages.
It should be pointed out that a Pulse Asia survey conducted from February to March this year found that more than half, or 61 percent, of Filipinos would refuse to be inoculated against COVID-19. While this survey results may be true then, we hope that with the start of inoculations this April, along with the sprouting of several deadly variants of SARS-CoV-2 in many parts of the world, many citizens have changed their attitude on vaccination in general.
It is good that employers have been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. This they do by allocating funds and going out of their way to purchase vaccines in the open market abroad for their workers. Big companies can do this, but how about the small ones?
The private sector is once again called to support the vaccination program called Let’s GO Bakuna Campaign, to be launched on May 1, Labor Day. The campaign will try to address the problem of vaccine misinformation and hesitancy through vaccine education forums designed to boost confidence in the vaccines, whether they be from the West or from Russia and China. This effort includes a series of webinars and town hall meetings, a multi-platform publicity push featuring expert advice and testimonials.
The fact that the vaccination education drive is backed by more than 1,000 private companies should assure us that many people — the workers and their families — will later adopt the scientifically accepted stance on vaccination.
