VACCINE acceptance in the country has improved but side effects, news about vaccines, vaccine efficacy and medical reasons continue to hinder many Filipinos from getting the jab, according to a study released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The study, titled “Trends in Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance in the Philippines and their Implications on Health Communication,” was based on information obtained from the Facebook World Symptoms Survey; DOH Covid-19 Vaccine Survey; Pulse Asia National Survey; and Minda Survey.
In a presentation on Thursday, UNDP Philippines Data Scientist Dominic Ligot said the primary barrier to getting vaccinated is concern about the side effects, with 51.6 percent saying they
won’t get a jab because of it and 65.8 percent saying they are not sure about getting inoculated.
“Increasingly more Filipinos are willing to get vaccinated against Covid-19 since February 2021. However, there is still a considerate segment of the population who are either undecided or unwilling to the vaccine, especially at the regional level,” Ligot said in a presentation.
Based on the data, Ligot said news about the vaccines has influenced 47.9 percent to say they will not get vaccinated and 62.2 percent were unsure about getting the jab because of this reason.
The data also showed that vaccine effectiveness or efficacy is another barrier to vaccination, with 36 percent saying they will not get vaccinated and 34.2 percent saying they are unsure about vaccination because of it.
He added that 33.6 percent of Filipinos said they will not get vaccinated because of medication reasons such as comorbidities while 30.2 percent said this is the reason they are unsure about getting vaccinated.
However, reasons cited that facilitate vaccination include the need to protect themselves and their families from infection, with 78.7 percent of Filipinos saying this is their main motivation to get the jab, followed by the consideration of the risk posed by Covid-19 at 34.7 percent.
Other factors that facilitate vaccination are the approval of the Food and Drug Administration or Department of Health or the government’s endorsement of the vaccine, with 33.1 percent saying they will get the jab because of this; work-related reasons, 32.9 percent; and vaccine availability, 23.2 percent.
Demographic segments
Ligot said Filipinos can be grouped into seven demographic segments based on their responses. These segments require tailored messaging as they are in various stages of vaccine acceptance.
Based on the data, 27 percent of Filipinos are part of the “Easy Sell” segment which only has a 1-percent vaccine hesitancy and are usually 25 to 54 years old who are married, have high incomes, and are highly educated. They are mainly located in the National Capital Region Plus area, ground zero of infections in the country.
The other segments are the Concerned and Supporter segments which account for 22 percent and 16 percent of the population and have a vaccine hesitancy of 2 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
The Concerned segment are also 25 to 54 years old, married, have mid-incomes, and mostly located in the VisMin area while the Supporter segment are 25 to 44 year olds, male, have mid-incomes, and located in provinces. In the middle of the segments are the Pragmatists who comprise 5 percent of the population and have a vaccine hesitancy of 9 percent. These are composed of 18 to 44 year old females in the NCR+ area with low income and received vocational education.
The last three segments are the Complacent, Obligated, and the Skeptics which account for 11 percent, 28 percent, and 9 percent of the population, respectively. The Complacent have a vaccine hesitancy of 17 percent; Obligated, 25 percent; and Skeptics, 82 percent.
The Complacent segment are 25 to 44 year olds, married, male, receive mid-incomes and located in the VisMin area while the Obligated are 25 to 44 year olds, married, highly educated and located in the Luzon-Visayas area. The Skeptics are 25 to 44 year olds who are female and receive mid-incomes as well as mostly located in the Visayas-Mindanao area.
Ligot noted in his presentation that the Concerned, Supporter, Obligated, and Skeptics segments all included side effects as a barrier to getting vaccinated. However, The Complacent and Skeptic are the only ones who cited they did not believe Covid-19 to be a risk.
The Easy Sell and Pragmatist segments both cited lack of vaccine supply and the vaccination process as barriers to getting the jab. However, the vaccination process was cited as a major barrier across all segments except for the Skeptics.
The data also showed that the Easy Sell obtained their information from social media; the Concerned, television and social media; Supporters, DOH media and social media; Pragmatist and Complacents, DOH media; and the Obligated and Skeptics mainly rely on television.
Using the Diffusion of Innovation Framework which maps Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority and Laggards, Ligot said the Easy Sell and Concerned could be considered early adopters while Supporters would be the Early Majority. The Pragmatists would be at the top of the bell curve while the Late Majority would be composed of the Complacent and Obligated while the Skeptics would be the laggards.
The Early Adopters are located in Cagayan Valley, NCR, and Northern Mindanao; Early Majority, Soccskargen, Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Bicol; Late Majority, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Caraga, Cordillera Autonomous Region, and Zamboanga; and Laggards, Western Visayas, Davao, and Mimaropa.
“Given the differences among regional and demographic segments, a one-size-fits all approach for communications interventions may not be effective in encouraging vaccine acceptance. Thus a more targeted approach needs to be prioritized,” Ligot said.
Highlight benefits
During the panel discussion, World Bank Practice Leader for Human Development Ronald Upenyu Mutasa said given the need for more tailored messaging, it may also be helpful to focus on the benefits of vaccination.
Based on an experimental study the World Bank did within the Philippines that surveyed 1,800 Filipinos, social benefits to getting vaccinated are highly valued and highly matter to the population.
Mutasa said one clear benefit is celebrating Christmas. He said given how big Christmas is for the Filipino family, one incentive that could be highlighted is that through vaccination, Christmas can be celebrated with family.
“We know for example that Filipinos are very big on Christmas. Can we basically use a message that…highlights that if we all get vaccinated, perhaps this could actually be one incentive for us to celebrate Christmas with our families and loved ones,” Mutasa said.
He added that apart from this, it is important for the government to be conscious of who is delivering the messages. Mutasa, citing UNDP study findings, said politicians have lower levels of trust among Filipinos when it comes to vaccinations.
Further, the government should veer away from “mass media campaigns and mass electronic campaigns” and replace this with more targeted efforts. This should include women and individuals without College degrees who have been found to be part of the groups with high vaccine hesitancy.