WITH the continued rise in Covid-19 cases, the ongoing rainy season and the opening of face-to- face classes nationwide, we see an increased challenge not just for Covid cases but for Dengue as well.
With this in mind, IPRA Philippines recently invited Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Joseph Adrian “Jondi” Buensalido to a webinar entitled “May Covid Na, May Dengue Pa!” to help educate us on the twin dangers of these diseases and how we can differentiate one from the other.
With the Philippines having a Covid-19 vaccine coverage of about 72 percent and having experienced a period of low cases, complacency has set in. The challenge at hand is how to convince people to go for their boosters which, evidence has shown, the people need due to the waning efficacy of the vaccines and the emergence of new variants. At the heart of this problem is vaccine hesitancy.
Globally, vaccine hesitancy has been a recognized concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines vaccine hesitancy as a “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services.” In 2019, the WHO identified it as a top threat to global health. It is a continuum ranging from complete acceptance to complete refusal.
A Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy in the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies further defines it as: A behavior, influenced by a number of factors including issues of confidence (do not trust vaccine or provider), complacency (do not perceive a need for a vaccine, do not value the vaccine), and convenience (access).
Indeed, vaccine hesitancy is real and it is imperative therefore, that doctors themselves become good communicators and skillfully engage the community in their health-seeking behaviors.
It is refreshing to come across a doctor like Dr. Jondi who can combine science and art. His lecture was composed of showing us facts and figures about the incidence of Covid-19 and Dengue, its symptoms and mortality rates and most importantly, how to prevent from getting these diseases. He recently came out with a book called “Mikrobyong Maliit, Pandemyang Pasakit,” a collection of narrative poetry and paintings about the Covid-19 pandemic written in Filipino. Here Dr. Jondi takes us through the different stages of the pandemic and captures the emotions and thoughts of real people going through the highs and lows and the fifth wave which struck us. He captures it with this poem:
PANGLIMANG ALON: UBOS NA ANG GAMOT
Matapos ang Pasko,
Eto na naman tayo.
Naku, Diyos ko po!
Panlimang alon na ‘to!
Nasobrahan yata tayo sa kasiyahan
N’ung ang mga kaso ng Covid nagbabaan.
Ang panangga sa mukha kinalimutan
At ang pagmamaskara’y nabawasan.
Sa katunayan ay pati “ang maaasahan,”
Na tinatatwag na “gamot ng bayan,”
Sa parmasya’y ‘di matagpuan.
Sa labas ng botika umaabot ng pilahan.”
When the B5 Omicron variant hit us, which is currently the most dominant form, he writes:
“HAWA, HAWA NA! MADULAS KASI!
Orihinal na strain ng Wuhan,
Isa’y nakakahawa ng tatlo
Kapag walang proteksyonan
Gaya ng bakuna, mask at paglayo.
Pag Delta, isa’y nakakahawa ng lima.
Ang Omicron BA.1 naman, halos sampu!
Ang BA.2, kumpara sa BA.1, mas malala:
Isa naipapasa sa labing tatlo!
Ang BA.4 at BA.5, lalo na!
Ang ‘sang maysakit, lalanding sa eighteen!
Parang tigdas na sa lakas makahawa!
Mahusay talaga at madulas, itong Covid-19!
Dr. Jondi also took a look at the Dengue Vaccine fiasco and how this has negatively impacted vaccine uptake as well. He writes,
“Dito sa Pilipinas, kung saan sobra-sobra
Ang kaso ng dengue, tayo’y walang bakuna.”
While the available Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe and fatal symptoms, none are 100 percent effective. That’s why continuous practice of safety precautions is advised such as wearing of masks, hand washing and social distancing. Dr. Jondi writes a poem to this effect:
“KAMPANYA PARA SA DISTANSYA’T MASKARA
Kaya ang kampanya ko,
Ituloy ang paglayo sa isa’t isa,
Huwag nang tanggalin ang mask n’yo
Para tuluyan nang matigil ang pandemya.”
According to the paper published by Social Science Humanitarian Action Platform, one of the ways to address vaccine hesitancy is to “be imaginative and compelling with communications, including story-telling [e.g. personal stories to which people can relate], emotion, appeals to empathy and altruism, as well as memes to convey key information in engaging ways. This requires context-specific assessment to identify communication preferences and language needs. Accessible material can help people make sense of things in the inherently uncertain and tense time.”
- Use a wide range of platforms, both off and online, including social media, for clear communication about the types of vaccines and the process of deploying them. Use all languages spoken, and visual imagery from the platforms people trust.
- Build on local terminologies and understandings of vitality, strength and immunity in communications about vaccination.
- Remind the public to act responsibly and think about accuracy prior to posting or sharing information verbally or online social media.
- Use open dialogue. It is important to field questions and address anxieties from people and to listen to their concern and priorities. These should be responded to into other vaccination related activities. Successful models have been carried out in the context of Ebola vaccine trials in Sierra Leone.
- Be honest about uncertainties, what is known and what isn’t, and do not assume publics can only deal with simple information. Communication of complex issues can be achieved using dialogue, and locally appropriate ways of designing and further disseminating messages can also emerge from these discussions.
- Patient-centered motivational techniques in patient-healthcare worker encounters (vis-à-vis more confrontational approaches) may help vaccine confidence through empathetic listening and avoiding rebuttal of ‘false opinions’.
With the virus continuing to mutate, we need to be able to adapt quickly and use all the available tools at our disposal including building up vaccine confidence. A combination of strategies and approaches can help policymakers, public health officials, vaccine developers, healthcare workers, researchers, advocates, communicators, media and others to build and sustain public confidence in the future uptake of Covid-19 vaccines. Multi-pronged approaches, tailored to socio-political contexts, specific social groups and even individuals, are likely to yield the best results. We live in an interconnected world and the sooner we realize that no one is safe until everyone is safe, the more we can easily live with the Covid-19 virus without fear.
Copies of “Mikrobyong Maliit, Pandemyang Pasakit, Ang Tinulang Salaysay ng Pandemyang Covid-19,” can be ordered through Facebook Messenger @mikrobyongmaliitbook, Shopee and at Solidaridad Bookshop or e-mail buensalidobooks@gmail.com.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Karen Alparce-Villanueva is a Board Member of the International Alliance of Patient Organizations (IAPO), the global alliance of patient organizations based in the UK and Treasurer of the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO), the national alliance of disease-specific patient groups in the country. She is also a Founding Member of the Asia-Pacific Immunization Coalition (APIC) which is advocating vaccine acceptance in the region.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.