Mindanaotoday.com | Some Oro folk not keen on booster shots
By: Franck Dick Rosete
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Despite the continuous call of the Philippine government, some Kagay-anons still have no plans to get booster shots, which aim to give extra protection against the ongoing threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
When asked for their reasons, Jayboy Lumapas said he was afraid that the adverse effects of the vaccines would get worse, as he had been experiencing side effects from his first and second doses of vaccination.
“I’m not sure if it’s directly related or not [referring to the side effects of the vaccines], but I’m scared that it would get worse,” Lumapas said.
Although Department of Health (DOH) officials have reiterated that there are possible adverse effects in every vaccine, such as tenderness, pain, warmth, redness, itching, or swelling on the arm where the person got the injection, people generally feel unwell, feeling tired (fatigue), having chills or feeling feverish, having a headache, and having joint pain or muscle ache.
DOH said these were signs that the body of a person is building protection against the virus.
When asked if he planned to get a booster shot in the future, Lumapas said yes “if it’s already required.”
Meanwhile, Sarah Shem Gallana of Barangay Camaman-an here would stick to her plan not to get a booster shot, as she no longer needed it, adding that she didn’t want to get vaccinated at all but the situation forced her to do so.
The national government did not implement a mandatory vaccination in the country, but many business establishments, during the intense moment of the pandemic, required people to be fully vaccinated with the primary series prior to entering the establishments.
For Danica Gamalo of Barangay Bayabas, getting her first and second booster shots has always been her choice.
“The main reason why I chose to get vaccinated with booster shots, not only to get full protection from the COVID-19 but to also assure that I’m much safer to interact with other people, especially with my workmates and family,” Gamalo said.
It can be recalled that 69% of the estimated 9.5 million adult Filipinos who have not been vaccinated are still hesitant to get the shot according to the December 2022 survey conducted by the private pollster Social Weather Stations.
Dr. Ina Grace Chiu, national immunization program medical coordinator of the City Health Office (CHO) here, said in a press briefing on Monday, April 3, that they had already tallied 182,445 individuals who got their first booster vaccination as of March 31—this is only 45.48 percent of the 595,067 fully vaccinated individuals on their primary series.
However, only less than 5% coverage is needed for the city to achieve the 50 percent target of the first booster vaccination of the general population.
For the second booster vaccination, the city’s health department has already vaccinated 31,497 individuals.
On the other hand, 81.8% of the total target population in the A2 category (senior citizens) were fully vaccinated.
This means that the LGU only needs less than 10% to achieve the 90% target for the said category.
Chiu announced that there were no COVID-19 vaccinations in the malls here, but they were still available in the city health office and at the 54 health centers in the city.
Despite the hesitance of the residents here, the city health officials will still continue on their task to encourage people to get vaccinated, as Dr. Teodulfo Joselito Retuya, Jr., the city’s top epidemiologist, said during the same press briefing that there had been a spike in Covid-19 cases since the start of March this year. (MT)
###