Across the ages, nurses have been at the forefront in the rollout of vaccines, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic where every individual, under the RESBAKUNA campaign, was given equal opportunity to get vaccinated, prioritizing the vulnerable groups- those with comorbidities and the senior citizens, then those under Priority Eligible B, followed by the rest of the population. However, the response to get protected from the virus was not quickly received as doubts and fears and miscommunication promptly spread in the communities and on various social media.
Several studies revealed the reasons why such responses from the public were encountered. According to a study, individual perceptions play a major role in the decision to get vaccinated. These perceptions are influenced by exposure to misinformation that was circulating on social media, the community, and the health system. An example of this is the hesitancy on the brand of the vaccine where some individuals refused to get vaccinated, causing delays in inoculating the target population. Additionally, some perceived the system's inefficiency and inflexibility, which created additional barriers to the vaccine rollout in the country, especially among vulnerable and marginalized groups. With the findings, the research study suggested that health literacy be strengthened to counter the spread of misinformation, that vaccination systems should look into vulnerable groups so that they be ensured of getting vaccinated, and finally, that the government should engage with communities to ‘co-create’ solutions. communities to ‘co-create’ solutions.
A survey experiment was carried out and findings revealed that, again, brand hesitancy was the central issue why individuals refused to get vaccinated. Also notable is that vaccine hesitancy is higher among lower-income households and urban respondents tend to have better vaccine acceptance than their rural counterparts. With these findings, the study suggests that communication campaigns that highlight the potential benefits of herd immunity and vaccines by emphasizing the prospect of holding family gatherings and protecting families can significantly reduce vaccine hesitancy in the country.
A more recent study, however, revealed that many respondents were willing to receive vaccination, but the major problem was the lack of vaccine supply. Adding to that, a similar suggestion was made about providing health education to address misconceptions.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, emphasized the role of nurses in raising awareness about vaccines, and how they communicate effectively to drive out fear and hesitancy and help with vaccine administration.
In the same manner, the Department of Health, through the health care providers, including nurses and other frontliners, never ceased to lead COVID-19 vaccination campaigns; they were always there to teach the public; they continued to educate the people about the need to get vaccinated; they drove out miscommunication about the vaccine, brand hesitancy, and social stigma of individuals with COVID-19.
With that being observed, the continuous efforts of the government to attain herd immunity are gaining results, as the RESBAKUNA campaign by the DOH, after a year, has recorded over 63 million fully vaccinated Filipinos, in which the Undersecretary of Health, Myrna C. Cabotaje, relayed they are confident that they will be able to reach the target population as they make the vaccination wider and more accessible to everyone.
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