No Vax, No Entry bars the unvaccinated from entering establishments. This policy also mandates every worker to at least make it to their jobs.
Filipinos want to get vaccinated, but there are problems surrounding the vaccine rollouts. In a survey conducted by the Social Weather Station from September 27 to 30, 2021, about 64% of Filipinos are willing to get vaccinated.
People who do not want to get the vaccine are either afraid because they are misinformed or they do not have the privilege of getting jabbed
However, unlike in Manila where the vaccine rollouts were first conducted, provinces do not have much access to vaccines. Stasita, a company which specializes in market and consumer data, reported that as of November 16, 2021, about 19 million FIlipinos living in the NCR are vaccinated, either fully or partially vaccinated. Meanwhile, about 1.3 million and 600 thousand are either fully or partially vaccinated in MIMAROPA and BARMM respectively. Being the capital of the Philippines, Metro Manila serves as the economic center of the Philippines. Filipinos from all around the country migrate to Manila to look for job opportunities, making the NCR the most populated region in the Philippines. Population density of the NCR compared to the other regions is a reason why there is a vaccine disparity in the country. The vaccine disparity observed in the regions of the Philippines shows how vaccines are inaccessible in the provinces. When in fact, provinces also provide a huge chunk of the country’s consumers. It also shows how the opportunities to get jabbed are unequal among the regions in the Philippines. Even in Manila, vaccination centers are overwhelmed with people. Some even choose to go home instead of getting jabbed, because they have more important errands to attend to.
The lack of information for the ordinary Filipino in regards with the effects of the vaccine causes low confidence with the vaccines. An example would be when there were reports of deaths of people who were jabbed with either vaccines from Moderna and Astrazeneca. But these deaths are just so little compared to the millions who were jabbed with the brands and still recovered. Fake news affects vaccine rollouts as well. Some have alleged that Sinovac and other vaccines have microchips in every dose. For a reasonable person, this news might sound hilarious, but for people who do not know how to fact-check or do not have access to information, this kind of misinformation can be the cause of why they do not want to get jabbed. The fear over the negative effects of the vaccines for people outweighs its positive effects, which then prevents people from getting jabbed. The role of the government and of the media is to spread information regarding the vaccine and its effects and to prevent the spread of misinformation among the population. The low confidence of Filipinos towards the vaccine causes them to not get jabbed, resulting in fewer Filipinos getting their vaccines. Because of the No Vax, No Entry policy, only few Filipinos will be able to enter establishments and consume goods that they can purchase. The lowered number of people being able to consume will therefore result in the slow flow of money in the economy. Thus, slowing the economic growth of the country. This policy will not just be harmful to the people, but also to the country itself.
One could say that the No Vax, No Entry is counter-intuitive because although non-vaccinated people are prevented from going inside establishments, particularly malls, they are still exposed to people outside (unless they follow safety protocols). Vaccinated and non-vaccinated people still interact inside transportation vehicles, or those vaccinated people live with people who are not vaccinated, so they can still be infected with the virus. Note that the vaccine does not make one immune from the virus, But it is also important to get vaccinated because it reduces a person’s risk of contracting the virus and it prevents the worsening of its effects when one contracts it.
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