Manila, Philippines – The Philippine government will use new strategies to increase the country’s vaccination against COVID-19, a Department of Health (DOH) official said Monday.
DOH Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said the new strategies are aimed at increasing booster vaccination and addressing hesitation in some areas.
“Magpapalit tayo of strategies, your iba naman a pag-iibayuhin natin ating adbokasiya kasi alam naman natin na your iba a hirap nang makumbinsi habang bumaba your hesitation ‘no, my ayaw magpabakuna are talaga nahirapan,” she said.
“Pangalawa, your emergency callback; so kailangan natin pag-ibayuhin your adbokasiya ano your callback advantage, tapos your may problem with brand preference,” she added.
Cabotaje, who is also the head of the National Immunization Operations Center (NVOC), said that while the public is aware of the importance of getting vaccinated, some of them do not see the urgent need to do so. vaccinate.
She noted that during the recent “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” held from February 10 to 18, only one million out of the 3.3 million who were to receive booster doses were vaccinated.
“[A]ng sumipot lang has a million kasi hindi nila nakikita your emergency. Alam nila is not important for security but is not important for booster because there is no urgency,” she said.
“Ayaw nilang mag-miss ng kanilang trabaho kasi isang araw na hindi pumasok o kaya mag-side effect eh kung ano man iyong maramdaman nila a mawawalan sila ng trabaho,” she added.
To solve this problem, Cabotaje said the government will adjust the booster vaccination by zone and by sector. Vaccination sites should also be opened in areas with low inoculation rates.
“So tinitingnan natin iyong mga arrangements niyan para gawin natin ng mga Friday o mga Sabado iyong mga bakunahan para maka-rest iyong mga nagtatrabaho o kaya kung Saturday o Sunday naman malakas iyong trabaho nila, eh ‘di sa week gawin iyong kanilang bakunahan, ” she says.
“So now we will have to adjust by area and by sector kung ano iyong kailangan nating gawin para sa booster,” she added.
Besides increasing the booster vaccination rate, Cabotaje also highlighted the need to increase vaccination coverage among the elderly.
She said around 2.4 million older people are still unvaccinated against COVID-19.
“Hindi nila naiintindihan na kapag sila a nagkasakit a ma-affect din iyong kanilang pamilya and then kailangan siguro mas mapadali iyong ating mga proseso,” she says.
“It is one of the most popular places, from home to home. Iyong iba a nilapit iyong tinatawag nating mobile fixed posts kung saan mayroong maraming mga senior, doon nila ilalagay iyong kanilang bakuna center”, a-t- she adds.
Cabotaje also revealed that one of the problems with vaccine hesitancy in the elderly sector is due to the religious and cultural beliefs of certain groups.
“It’s just a major issue in NASA’s autonomous region of … Bangsa, your BARMM touches on some of the cultural beliefs in the north, which can be cultural and religious,” she said.
“We will work more closely with all groups of older people for ma-focus natin ngayon kung sino talaga ang kailangang area na bigyan ng pansin,” she added.
