THERE has been a sharp decline in vaccine hesitancy among adult Filipinos as shown by results of a recent survey.
A survey conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS) from December 12 to 16, 2021 showed that vaccine hesitancy stood at only 8 percent in December 2021, compared to the 18 percent in September 2021.
“Napakaganda po ng mga resulta ng survey na ito. Ito ay nagpapatunay na naging epektibo ang kampanya ng pamahalaan upang makumbinsi ang ating mga kababayang magpabakuna na,” NTF chief Implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. said.
The SWS survey further showed a 25-percent drop in vaccine hesitancy between the second and fourth quarter of last year. To recall, the country registered a vaccine hesitancy of 33 percent in May 2021.
The decrease in vaccine hesitancy from May to December 2021 was noticeable across all age groups, as it went down from 14 percent to 6 percent among 18 to 24-year-olds; 17 percent to 5 percent among 25 to 34-year-olds; from 17 percent to 6 percent among 35 to 44-year-olds; 20 percent to 8 percent among 45 to 54-year-olds; and from 18 percent to 14 percent among adults 55-year-old and above.
The unwillingness to get vaccinated fell from 9 percent in May to 3 percent in December among college graduates; from 15 percent to 4 percent among junior high school graduates; from 18 percent to 14 percent among elementary graduates; and 36 percent to 20 percent among those belonging to non-elementary graduates.
On the other hand, the willingness among college graduates to get vaccinated increased from 32 percent in May to 55 percent in June. This figure further rose to 64 percent in September to 87 percent in December, showing an increase of 23 percent during the said period.
Based on these figures, there has been an increase of 55 percent in willingness to get vaccinated from the second to the fourth quarter of last year.
The willingness of college graduates to be vaccinated increased from 34 percent in May to 36 percent in December; from 31 percent to 35 percent among junior high school graduates; 27 percent to 32 percent for elementary graduates; and 14 percent to 41 percent for non-elementary graduates.
Meawhile, vaccine hesitancy among Metro Manila residents dropped from 16 percent in September to 13 percent in December. There was, however, a 6 percent increase among people in Luzon get the jab, rising from 29 percent to 35 percent, an increase of 3 percent among residents in the Visayas, growing from 35 percent to 38 percent; and an increase of 17 percent among Mindanaoans, going up from 29 percent in September to 46 percent in December.
Comparing the SWS survey results with the data from the website Our World in Data, vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines is now lower than other countries in the world, including the United States (26 percent), Spain (12 percent), Japan (12 percent), Italy (17 percent) and the United Kingdom (17 percent).