30% of public hesitant to receive vaccines — FDA’s Domingo

Around 30% of the public have doubts about receiving vaccines, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo said amid the preparation of the government for COVID-19 vaccination.

Interviewed on GMA Network’s Unang Hirit on Tuesday, Domingo said the government should assure the safety and efficacy of vaccines to the public.

“Mukhang meron pa rin po talaga. Meron tayong tinatawag na vaccine hesitancy as many as parang 30% of the public, e medyo hindi pa sila sigurado kung gusto nilang magpabakuna,”Domingo said.

“Kailangan po nating ipakita sa kanila at ipadama sa kanila 'yung safety tsaka 'yung efficacy data ng mga vaccines tsaka yung kahalagahan ho ng pagbabakuna,” he added.

The entire population should be vaccinated to eradicate COVID-19, according to Domingo.

With an estimated population of 110 million, the Philippines eyes to vaccinate 60 to 70 million people in three to five years.

Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) said the vaccination of 65% to 70% of a population can reach herd immunity.

As defined by the WHO, herd immunity or population immunity is a concept used for vaccination in which a population can be protected from a certain virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached.

Domingo said that vaccination should be completely voluntary. He said those who will refuse to be administered with the vaccine have no liabilities.

“Ang pagpapabakuna ay completely voluntary at tsaka talaga kailangan po may informed consent. Hindi po puwedeng pilitin ang taong magpabakuna kung ayaw po niya,” he added. — RSJ, GMA News