60% of Pinoys don’t want COVID-19 vaccine – survey

MANILA, Philippines — Almost all adult Filipinos are aware of the vaccines developed against COVID-19, but six in 10 are not willing to be vaccinated, a recent survey by Pulse Asia revealed.

The Pulse Asia poll, conducted from Feb. 22 to March 3, showed 61 percent do not want to get any COVID-19 vaccine – a sentiment shared by majorities across geographic areas and socio-economic groupings (56 percent to 63 percent and 59 percent to 68 percent, respectively).

About a quarter of Filipino adults or 23 percent are unable to say whether or not they will get vaccinated while 16 percent reply in the affirmative, the pollster said.

“Most of those not getting vaccinated (84 percent) and those who are still undecided about being vaccinated against COVID-19 (74 percent) point to uncertainty about COVID-19 vaccines as the primary reason to explain their disinclination to be given such vaccines,” Pulse Asia explained.

It said this was the majority opinion across areas and classes among those against vaccination (80 percent to 90 percent and 82 percent to 86 percent, respectively).

Among those ambivalent on the matter of getting vaccinated, majorities in all areas as well as Classes D and E (57 percent to 82 percent and 56 percent to 83 percent, respectively) also cite the same reason.

In Class ABC, 49 percent of those who cannot say whether or not they will get vaccinated are questioning the efficacy of vaccines against COVID-19.

Pfizer most  favored

Pulse Asia said the vaccine developed by Pfizer is the one most preferred by those willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

It said 52 percent choose the vaccine developed by Pfizer – a view echoed by small pluralities to huge majorities across geographic areas and socio-economic groupings (38 percent to 73 percent and 48 percent to 73 percent, respectively).

On the other hand, 22 percent favor the vaccine by China’s Sinovac.

Other COVID-19 vaccines preferred by at least one percent of those willing to get vaccinated against the disease are those made by AstraZeneca (six percent), Gamaleya Research Institute (three percent), Johnson & Johnson (one percent), Sinopharm (one percent) and Moderna (one percent).

The rest of Filipinos inclined to be vaccinated are either undecided about which COVID-19 vaccine to get (six percent) or are willing to be injected with whichever vaccine is available (nine percent).

According to Pulse Asia, almost all Filipino adults report awareness of vaccines against COVID-19 developed in selected countries, ranging from 93 percent to 100 percent.

Distrust is the prevailing opinion toward vaccines developed in China at 63 percent, it said.

On the other hand, a big plurality of Filipino adults (44 percent) trust COVID-19 vaccines developed in the US.

Indecision is the plurality sentiment regarding the trustworthiness of those vaccines developed in the United Kingdom and Russia at 43 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

As for vaccines developed in India, virtually the same percentages of Filipino adults either distrust such vaccines (45 percent) or express ambivalence on the matter (43 percent).

The survey also found 94 percent of Filipino adults say they are worried that they or any member of their household will get sick with COVID-19 amid the spike in coronavirus cases in the country.

Majority levels of concern are posted across geographic areas and socio-economic classes (89 percent to 96 percent and 93 percent to 95 percent, respectively), Pulse Asia said.

The nationwide survey was based on face-to-face interviews of 2,400 representative adults 18 years old and above. It has a plus or minus two percentage points error margin at the 95 percent confidence level.