‘Massive info drive’ on vaccination needed—Bong Go

SENATOR Lawrence Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, last week called on the executive branch to conduct a “massive information drive” to educate Filipinos on the importance of having themselves inoculated against COVID-19.

Go likewise stressed the necessity of informing the public on the details of the so-called ‘COVID-19 vaccine roadmap’ the government is preparing ahead of the arrival of millions of doses of the vaccines the government is procuring from various sources outside of the country.

The roadmap— which details the process on how the country may acquire the vaccines, their delivery to the public, and the organizational chart of officials who will spearhead their acquisition and delivery, among others— seeks to ensure the cost-effective, safe and efficient delivery of the vaccines to all Filipinos.

Go issued the appeal last January 12, 2021, after noting a survey of ‘Pulse Asia’ released last January 7, 2021, that showed only 32 percent of Filipinos are willing to be inoculated against the highly-infectious and deadly virus.

Speaking in the vernacular, Go said:

“Gamitin po sana natin ang panahong ito para ipaliwanag sa publiko ang ating national vaccine roadmap. Importante po na maintindihan nila ito. Ilatag na natin sa kanila ang buong proseso para mas mabilis tayong makabangon muli.

“Itong vaccine naman ang inaabangan nating paraan upang matigil ang pagkalat ng COVID-19, kung kaya’t huwag nating sayangin ang oportunidad na pagplanuhan ang maayos na implementasyon nito at magabayan ang publiko gamit ang tamang impormasyon na kailangan nilang malaman para makabangon sa kahirapan.”

Aside from mitigating public fear about the importance of vaccination, Go said that explaining the vaccine roadmap thoroughly will address concerns on fake news and misinformation.

“Bukod sa COVID-19, nakakamatay din ang maling balita,” Go stressed further.

“Kung gusto talaga natin na magkaroon ng kumpiyansa ang tao sa bakuna, kailangan nilang maintindihan kung ano ito at ano ang plano ng gobyerno ukol dito,” Go noted.

In a previous statement, Go has dared health secretary, Francisco Duque III and Philippine ‘vaccine czar,’ retired Armed Forces chief, Carlito Galvez, to be the “first” to be inoculated against the virus, to encourage Filipinos.

To lead by example

Last Wednesday, January 13, 2021, Pres. Joko Widodo of Indonesia, formally launched his country’s vaccination campaign against COVID-19 by being the first to be inoculated with a vaccine his country developed jointly with ‘Sinovac Biotech’ of China.

Indonesia, the most populous country in Southeast Asia, has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the region, with the Philippines not very far behind.

Pres. Widodo was immediately followed by other high-ranking Indonesian government officials, to show the vaccine acquired from China is safe and effective.

“Vaccination is important to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission and give protection to us and safety to every Indonesian and help accelerate economic recovery,” the Indonesian leader said, in a statement released by his office to the international media.