The celebrities and high-profile individuals’ role has never been vital in making a global impact on campaigns intended to quell a pandemic, a success.
Vaccines may be increasingly available, but the confidence of regular citizens remained utterly low. While the rollout for vaccines has long begun across the archipelago, the Government still struggles to raise public trust in its attempt to put an end to this pandemic.
This overwhelming lack of public confidence in the vaccines and the Government’s efforts to amplify its campaign is at the final hurdle in eradicating COVID-19.
Like in many developing countries, public mistrust hurt the Philippines’ overall vaccination drive the most.
The SWS survey in June revealed that 51% of Filipinos are confident in the Government’s campaign. But these figures are perpetually threatened to plummet by growing misconceptions about the efficacy of certain vaccine brands.
It is, therefore, in the hands of informed, influential, and public figures who play a big part in this aspiration.
In the Philippines, the entertainment sector falls under the A4 priority group of the Government’s vaccination prioritization scheme.
Previously prioritized, the celebrities and other entertainment workers with co-morbidities and those also part of the health sector.
In June, the move to normalize movements within the local entertainment sector was spearheaded by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund). The former organizes the annual Metro Manila Film Festival, while the latter provides for the welfare of movie workers in the country.
Among the first celebrities to receive jabs included It’s Showtime host Vhong Navarro, TV and movie actors Jerome Ponce and JM de Guzman. Joko Diaz and Matet de Leon took part in the organization’s inoculation drive in the second week of June.
The campaign continues this week with much even bigger and popular names who joined the initiative. Phenomenal movie and TV stars Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla were among the most talk-about personalities to grace the event.
Real-life celebrity couple Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann Santos also got vaccinated. In an Instagram post, Santos-Agoncillo, the Kapamilya actress and TV host, encouraged Filipinos to receive the jab as well, as she emphasized its importance in keeping loved ones safe.
Another real-life celebrity couple Matteo Guidecelli and Sarah Geronimo shared the same call. Guidecelli encouraged Filipinos to do the same, not just for themselves, but more importantly, for their families, friends, and fellow Filipino citizens.
Real-life sweethearts Gerald Anderson and Julia Barretto are also among other celebrities to join the campaign. Candy Pangilinan, Joross Gamboa, Maris Racal, Rico Blanco, Pia Guanio, celebrity couple Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera, and singer Christian Bautista–also received their shots (but not necessarily during the MMFF campaign).
With the number of personalities who lent their support to push the national immunization drive forward rising, there may be finally a hope that this effort will achieve success.
Whether the Government will complete the national program before the available vaccines expire and become unusable–remains to be seen. That said, it’s hard not to believe that the support and call of these celebrities are not helping to expedite the campaign.
MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos recently highlighted the role of showbiz personalities in making this national effort work.
“Through our artists’ influence to the masses, they can help in addressing the public’s vaccine hesitancy and encourage them to get their jabs for the country to achieve herd immunity the soonest time possible,” he said in an interview.
As the country fast-tracks its efforts to bring back the pre-pandemic normalcy that the Filipinos previously enjoyed, these celebrities and other public figures boost the still weak public confidence in vaccines.
Should this work, Filipinos will be once again enjoying the pleasure of watching movies inside big cinema screens and concerts in gigantic venues, the soonest possible time.
It is now in the hands of the skeptic Filipinos to take a leap of faith and take part in ending this pandemic. Get vaccinated the moment you get the chance. Be safe and get protected.
