SWS: More Pinoys back mandatory jabs, restrictions for unvaxxed

MANILA, Philippines — About half of adult Filipinos support mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations and stricter policies against the unvaccinated, a recent survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

SWS president Linda Luz Guerrero presented the December 2021 survey results at a virtual forum earlier this week.

According to Guerrero, some 51 percent of the adult respondents in their latest survey either strongly or somewhat agree to enact into law the proposal of President Duterte to compel all Filipinos to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Thirty-two percent of the respondents said they strongly or somewhat disagree with the proposal, while 17 percent were undecided.

Meanwhile, 51 percent (27 percent strongly agree, 24 percent somewhat agree) said it is just right that unvaccinated employees are not allowed to report for work unless they would submit negative swab test every two weeks.

Thirty-five percent of the respondents do not support such policy (20 percent strongly disagree, 15 percent somewhat disagree), while 14 percent were undecided.

On the policy prohibiting unvaccinated people from dining inside restaurants, 49 percent of the respondents said they either strongly agree (25 percent) or somewhat agree (24 percent) with it.

Thirty-six percent of the respondents do not agree with preventing unvaccinated from dining in (19 percent strongly disagree, 17 percent somewhat disagree), while 14 percent were undecided.

SWS has yet to release the full details of the survey, which was conducted from Dec. 12 to 16.

Earlier, it said that vaccine skepticism among Filipinos has dropped from as high as 33 percent in May 2021 to just eight percent in the most recent survey.

A majority of those who received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines also said they are willing to get booster shots.

The SWS fourth quarter survey had 1,440 adult respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percent.