LGUs urged to wage info drive on Covid vaccines

LOCAL government units (LGUs) were again urged on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, to educate their constituents about the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination plan and minimize distrust in vaccines.

In an online briefing on the government’s Covid-19 vaccination plan, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said LGUs should spearhead the information dissemination campaign to quash misinformation and convince the public to receive the vaccine.

"Kailangan mapaliwanag po nila ito nang mabuti, maintindihan ng mga kababayan at importante po dito magkaroon sila ng kumpiyansa sa vaccines that we are bringing in," Densing said.

"Right now, marami hong fake news na lumalabas at ‘pag di natin 'to na-verify at na-explain sa ating kababayan, maaaring mawalan ng kumpiyansa ang ating mga kababayan," he added.

In the same conference, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. appealed to the public to trust that the government will purchase only vaccines that are proven safe and effective.

“Magtiwala po tayo na ang mga bakunang darating ay daraan sa stringent evaluation ng vaccine experts panel at ng FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Lahat po ng vaccine na makakapasa sa FDA, ina-assure po namin na safe ‘yan,” he said.

“Mga 66 million na po ang nabakanuhan [sa buong mundo], 35 million po [gamit ang] Pfizer-BioNTech. Sa Chinese vaccine po na meron tayong agam-agam, 31 million naman na po ang nakatanggap ng Chinese vaccine, kasama na ang Sinovac na six million [ang tumanggap]. Maganda po ang resulta, safe po at ‘yung adverse effects ay manageable,” Galvez added.

The government aims to inoculate 50 to 70 million people within the year.

Galvez said he was aiming to secure a total of 148 million doses of Covid vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Novavax, Janssen, Gamaleya and Bharat BioTech.

As of Tuesday, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is allowed for emergency use in the Philippines.

The applications for Emergency Use Authorization of AstraZeneca, Gamaleya and Sinovac are still pending.

Galvez earlier announced that Sinovac will deliver its first shipment of 50,000 doses on February 20, 2021. (SunStar Philippines)