MANILA, Philippines — Vaccine skepticism is shrinking, the latest survey of pollster Social Weather Stations suggested after it showed that fewer adult Filipinos were unwilling to get immunized against COVID-19.
According to a poll taken in December 2021 and released on Thursday, only 8% of adult Filipinos did not want to get vaccinated against COVID-19, down from 18% in September, 21% in June and 33% in May.
Of those who expressed unwillingness, 1% said they would probably not get the vaccine and 7% would surely not get jabbed.
Only 6% were uncertain about getting vaccinated, down from 19% in September 2021, the survey also showed.
SWS noted that vaccine skepticism declined in all areas: from 7% to 4% in Metro Manila, 15% to 8% in Balance Luzon, 24% to 15% in Visayas, and from 25% to 8% in Mindanao.
“While skepticism is less among the better educated, the percentage of those unwilling to get vaccinated fell from September 2021 to December 2021 in all educational groups,” the polling firm said.
It added that the percentage of those unwilling to get inoculated decreased to single-digit levels in all age groups, except among those 55 years old and above. The government is prioritizing the vaccination of the elderly, who are at risk of contracting severe illness. Over 6.02 million senior citizens have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The highly-politicized Dengvaxia controversy in 2017 eroded decades of public trust in vaccination despite unfounded claims that the anti-dengue vaccine caused the deaths of children inoculated with it during the previous administration.
Vaccinated vs COVID-19
The poll also found that 50% of adult Filipinos received at least one vaccine dose. Broken down, 38% received two doses, while 13% got one dose.
According to SWS, the percentage of people who received at least one dose has steadily increased from 10% in June and 35% in September. The proportion rose in Metro Manila to 81% from 71%, in Balance Luzon to 52% from 36%, in Visayas to 37% from 21%, and in Mindanao to 40% from 25%.
Meanwhile, 35% of the unvaccinated said they were willing to get immunized against COVID-19, of which 33% would surely get vaccinated and 3% would probably get vaccinated.
The survey was conducted from December 12 to 16 using face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adults. The sampling error margins are ±2.6% for national percentages, and ±5.2% for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao.
Since the government rolled out COVID-19 jabs in March 2021, only 56.8 million people have completed vaccination and 59.6 million have received partial protection. Meanwhile, 5.87 million individuals have received booster shots.
As COVID-19 cases hit record highs, the government is restricting the movement of the unvaccinated, including banning them on public transportation.