What vaccine would you choose to combat the virus? If given the option, I bet you’d go for Pfizer. Or Moderna.

I got vaccinated on March 31st. When I walked into the vaccination site, I was prepared for any vaccine they’d give me. I just wanted to get vaccinated. And they gave me Pfizer.

There’s a lot of fluidity on the vaccine news. It seems like every day, some side effect gets reported on AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson. Health Canada reversed its findings and recommendation on AstraZeneca. Whereas before, this vaccine was assigned to younger people, it recommended on the eve of my vaccination appointment that it now be given to older people. This and news of side effects gives rise to vaccine hesitancy which is different from an anti-vaccine stand. Anti-vaxxers don’t believe in vaccines and will never get the jabs, regardless, most likely for religious reasons, misinformation or for some, extreme fear of the needles. While anti-vaxxers leave little hope for them getting the Covid vaccine, people who express hesitation on the vaccine can be swayed through photos of celebrities and ex-presidents/prime ministers and their spouses getting vaccinated. When you weigh the pros and cons of getting yourself vaccinated, you will realize that vaccination tips the scale versus getting hospitalized and being fitted with a ventilator, even dying, from this lethal virus. Covid 19 does not recognize religious beliefs, political affiliations or vaccine conspiracies. Sadly, people die from it.

In 2016, 800,000 Filipino children were vaccinated against dengue with Dengvaxia. Six hundred died, a rather large number of deaths for a vaccine rollout. Whether or not these children had underlying conditions is still being looked at. As a result, 14 government officials were indicted for 10 deaths directly related to Dengvaxia. This vaccine fiasco led to an erosion in vaccine confidence among Filipinos, from 81% in 2016 to 21% in 2018. Worse was the effect of this diminished confidence on the measles vaccine leading to 26,000 cases and 355 deaths. Attitudes can change and has been seen in the gradual increase in trust and confidence in the Covid 19 vaccine. Not every parent who lost a child to Dengvaxia is on board with SinoVac and AstraZeneca which are the vaccines being jabbed into the Filipinos’ arms but there’s hope that they will roll out their sleeve when their turn comes.