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Philippines Tries to Build Trust in Routine Vaccines
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV - PHILIPPINES-VAX-CAMPAIGN
HEADLINE: Philippines Tries to Build Trust in Routine Vaccines
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 05/23/2023 at 8:50AM
BYLINE: Dave Grunebaum
DATELINE: Taguig, Philippines
VIDEOGRAPHER: Dave Grunebaum
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: cobus, Sharon Shahid
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA Original
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV X RADIO ___
TRT: 2:39
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ---There is a separate webscript and photos for a slideshow))
[[NOTE: Many Filipinos have two-word first names. Jennifer Lou is a first name. Also. Ma. Nieves is a two-word first name, including the period after the ‘a.’ However, when you speak her first name you say Maria Nieves but when you type it out her legal spelling on government documents is Ma. Nieves (not Maria Nieves). It is not uncommon in the Philippines to have a legal written name as Ma. That is pronounced as Maria.]]
((INTRO)) [[In the Philippines, a high number of children haven’t received routine vaccinations. So now health care workers are on a major inoculation drive. Dave Grunebaum has the story.]]
((Natural sound))
“Ready, one, two”
((NARRATION))
At health clinics across the Philippines,
((natural sound pop from doctor))
((NARRATION))
doctors, nurses and midwives give shot after shot.
According to UNICEF, the country has about one-million children who have not received any routine vaccines, ranking the Philippines in the top five globally for the highest number of zero-dose kids.
So, health departments across the country have teamed up with UNICEF and the World Health Organization for a nationwide vaccine campaign.
((Nats pop, Zafeerah crying when needle goes into her arm))
Robert Pascual Jr. came to this clinic with his 2-year-old daughter, Zafeerah.
((Robert Pascual Jr., Father – (male in Tagalog)))
“So, when she grows up, she’s protected and safe.”
((NARRATION))
Reasons for the high numbers of unvaccinated children include strict lockdowns during the pandemic that kept families from routine medical appointments, plus lingering mistrust of vaccines after hundreds of thousands of Filipino children received a dengue vaccine in 2016 and 2017 called Dengvaxia. Evidence later showed the vaccine could increase the risk of a severe form of the disease in some people.
Several studies in the Philippines revealed the Dengvaxia debacle made parental trust in vaccines drop, including mistrust of vaccines that have been routine for children for decades. Health officials say this led to measles outbreaks.
((Dr. Jennifer Lou Lorico-De Guzman, Taguig Health Department -- (in English)))
“There are myths that these particular vaccines give you the disease itself. So, there’s a lot of controversies.”
((natural sound, house to house visit))
“Good morning”
So now, health advocates such as Ma. [Pronounced Maria] Nieves Bulalacao are hitting the streets to talk to parents.
((Ma. Nieves Bulalacao, Taguig Health Department -- (female in Taglog)))
“We go to the house and knock on their doors. We need to inform them of the importance of vaccination.”
((NARRATION))
Here, a street team meets a mother with three children who are not fully vaccinated against measles. They explain to her how contagious and dangerous the disease is.
The father says they’ve resisted for several reasons, including rumors they’d heard.
((Joeson Dalanon, Father -- male in Tagalog))
“I hear there are lots of kids who die, so I didn’t want them vaccinated.”
((Natural sound pop from scene))
((NARRATION))
But these parents eventually agree to let their children get inoculated.
((Ma. Nieves Bulalacao, Taguig Health Department -- (female in Taglog)))
“Of course, I’m happy, because of our efforts — the efforts of the whole team — were not for nothing. So, we’re very, very happy.”
((Natural sound pop,house to house visit))
“Monday to Friday”
((NARRATION))
It’s a campaign to educate and vaccinate with the health of so many children at stake.
((Dave Grunebaum, for VOA News, Taguig, Philippines))
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