SOME indigenous peoples (IPs) in the hinterlands in Davao City are still hesitant to get themselves jabbed with Covid-19 vaccines, despite the ongoing vaccine rollout in their respective communities, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said.
Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Monday, July 12, 2021, that based on her talk with a doctor in Calinan District, where the first indigent population in the city to get vaccinated, there is hesitation with the lumad.
“Naa silay mga hesitation, apil na nang mga ‘mahimo kang lain na tao, naa siyay epekto sa imo na barang’ kanang mga ing-ana na mga thing na ginatuohan ‘no, sa lain-lain na kultura (they have hesitation to get vaccinated, including like ‘you will turn into a different person, it will have an effect like witchcraft’ those beliefs in different cultures),” the mayor said in her interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
The mayor said they have talked to their Datu (leader) to encourage their people to get vaccinated.
“Giuna natong ginapasabot ang mga datu and then ang mga datu muistorya sa atoang mga kaigsuonang IPs (We talked to the Datu first and then the Datu will talk to the IPs),” she said.
Duterte-Carpio added that the acceptance of vaccination in the city remains the same where some are on a “wait and see,” where they observe first from their neighbors who get vaccinated.
Duterte-Carpio said that people are always asking about access to vaccination and the line for those who want to get vaccinated is still high.
“Taas gihapon atong pila, list gihapon sa atong pagpabakuna. (We still have long queues and list for our vaccination),” she said.
The mayor believes that the city will get to the point where all of the people who are willing to be vaccinated will be jabbed with Covid-19 vaccines.
They will also have to look for the remaining people who need to be vaccinated and encourage them to get their vaccine to achieve their target population of 1.2 million based on the 1.8 million population of the city (based on 2020 data) to achieve “herd immunity.”
The mayor recently dispelled false information circulating in the social media that people will turn into zombies once they get vaccinated.
Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Monday, July 5, that based on her talk with a doctor, some IPs are having apprehensions in getting the second dose.
More than a year since the pandemic hit the city, the mayor said disinformation remains a challenge in the local government's Covid-19 response.
To further intensify its information campaign, the mayor said the city is planning to launch a separate website intended for Covid-19 information, policies and regulations, and other response measures of the city.
According to the Davao City Vaccination Custer as of July 8, 267,793 doses were already administered for the first dose, while 60,647 individuals are already fully vaccinated after getting their second dose.
Among those vaccinated are residents belonging to IP communities of Marilog, belonging to Priority Group A5 or indigent population. Of the A5 group, 7,523 were given their first dose, and 142 were jabbed for the second dose. (Dolly Joy Y. Hallarsis, NDDU Intern/With reports from Ralph Lawrence G. Llemit)