Vaccination hesitancy

It has now been almost 2 years since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has decimated populations from around the globe. Millions of lives have been claimed and it has severely impacted the ways by which people live. Job security, business, online education, and health concerns are just some of the several areas affected by the situation. Such adversity demands the need to underscore the significance of science. Generations of today utilize the advancements brought about by science to help overcome the pandemic in the form of vaccines. So why then do a number of people still remain averse to scientifically proven solutions?

Vaccination is considered to be one of the greatest accomplishments of public health. It has contributed much to the decline of morbidity of infectious diseases and to the mortality rate of the human population. Despite the evident success and efficacy that vaccines have against COVID-19 as well as the efforts made by various governing bodies to persuade the masses to participate in vaccination programs, vaccine hesitancy remains a pressing issue.

The Philippines is no stranger to this. Studies have revealed that one contributing factor is social trauma. The controversial vaccination program (Dengvaxia) that occurred last 2016 has led to the deaths of about 600 people—most of whom are infants—due to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and polio. Such a devastating and traumatic experience continues to affect the trust of the people. Thus, it is only imperative that the Philippine government develop more effective campaign strategies that consider said social trauma as a factor in vaccine hesitancy.

In light of this, I believe that we, as Filipino citizens, must also make the effort to promote the need to cooperate in vaccination programs. Failure to do so will not help alleviate our current situation as non-vaccinated people threaten not only their health but the health of others as well. Being mindful of our decisions and actions is a need that we must not take lightly. Thus, get vaccinated now and encourage others to do so as well.

We cannot afford to be insensitive and careless in the face of the pandemic.

Image reference

Acayan, E. (n.d.).https://media.npr.org/.../philippines-vaccine-03_custom...