Are you ready to get inoculated? If your answer is no, then you might have lots of things in mind when it comes to the nationwide rollout of the COVID vaccines. Well, it is natural for us to have an anticipatory anxiety due to the misconceptions about vaccines as well as the spread of misinformation across social media platforms. Consequently, it clouds our sound judgment and judicious decision. In this regard, there is a tendency that you will hesitate to receive the immunity that you need. However, you need to recognize that vaccines have worked for almost 4 decades and it has treated a lot of incurable diseases in the past. This is just one benefit since there are more vaccine advantages. Let this article guide on COVID vaccines reduce the internal agony and resistance you have been feeling before inoculation.
Start Your Immunity Journey Today:
1. COVID Vaccine Guide: Everything you need to know – YOU ARE HERE.
2. Covid-19 Vaccines in the Philippines: Pros and Cons
3. COVID19 Vaccine Update: Guidelines to Follow in Vaccination Centers
4. COVID-19 Update: The Delta Variant and What you Should Know
5. Advantages & Disadvantages of Face Shields
6. COVID-19 Vaccine: Resetting the World with One Jab
7. Travel Guidelines in the Philippines 2021
According to the public advisory of the Department of Health (DOH), all COVID vaccines are guaranteed safe and effective. Moreover, they were given an Emergency Use Authorization by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration. Although vaccination is not mandatory, the DOH encourages everyone to register with the local government unit (LGU). You can get your inoculation in vaccination centers when it is your turn.
Common Causes of COVID Vaccine Hesitation
There are three common vaccination fears that might hinder you to have your first jab or even continue with your second one. Nonetheless, you can learn how to overcome your vaccination fears by starting with getting the right information from a trusted source.
1. Trypanophobia
As humans, it is natural for us to be afraid of something. May it be spiders, snakes, or even fear of the unknown. However, conquering fear starts by learning how to face it. In medicine, there is this trypanophobia that involves fear from injections and needles in medical procedures.
Are you one of those people who have fear in needles, too? One of the best ways to overcome trypanophobia is through an exposure therapy. You may seek your trusted psychiatrist in helping you cope up your fear of needles.
Nonetheless, you may try personal ways to confront your fear of needles. For example, you may bring a stress ball that you can squeeze as a distraction from your focus on the needle. On the other hand, you may also try singing your favorite song while receiving your COVID vaccine shot.
Do you have other tips to overcome trypanophobia? You can share some on the comments below!
2. COVID Myths
In the Social Media, there are a lot of misconceptions or fake news that are spreading regarding COVID vaccines. As a result, it invokes an unnecessary fear or worry to the people. The best way to stop the proliferation of such misinformation is to equip yourself with the facts coming from credible sources and debunking COVID vaccine myths. Fortunately, the World Health Organization and the Department of Health are working hand-in-hand in delivering a massive information campaign in order to elevate the vaccine literacy in the country.
Below are the most common COVID vaccine fallacies and why you should not believe them according to the Department of Health:
a. I can stop wearing face mask and face shield after vaccination.
Continue to follow the health protocols because it provides additional protection against the virus and its new variants until the country has achieved herd immunity through mass inoculation.
b. I don’t need a COVID vaccine because I am young and healthy.
Even if you deem yourself healthy, you still need an additional protection. In fact, there are young, healthy, and active patients who have succumbed to the disease. Hence, the virus chooses no one.
c. There are drugs I can take to prevent contracting the virus. Therefore, COVID vaccines have no value.
There are no proven medicines that can prevent COVID-19. However, vaccines are proven that they can protect us from severe cases and death.
d. Having the 2nd dose of the vaccine is not necessary.
If you will miss out the 2nd dose, then you will not receive the optimal protection that you need from the virus.
e. The COVID-19 vaccine will re-infect those who have fully recovered from COVID-19.
COVID Vaccine protection is not only for those who have not yet contracted the virus. Likewise, it offers the same boost to the immune system and prevention from hospitalization and deaths to COVID survivors.
f. The COVID-19 vaccine can cause sterility or infertility.
The COVID vaccine definitely do not cause infertility. In fact, it has undergone safety procedures.
g. The COVID-19 vaccines can alter my DNA.
All COVID vaccines are indeed safe because it does not contain any live virus in it. Furthermore, there is no evidence that it alters human DNA.
h. The COVID vaccines are fake and nothing but a lucrative money-making venture for manufacturers.
Currently, COVID vaccines are given for free. Moreover, the Philippine National Government ensures that its people will receive the most cost-effective vaccines without having them shoulder any expenses. On the other hand, COVID vaccines are scientifically proven to protect the people from the disease.
3. Risks or Adverse Effects
Finally, experiencing any adverse effects from the inoculation may leave you hesitant to receive your first immunity jab. However, you should always remember that there is no known evidence that proves that there are deaths pertaining to the COVID vaccines.
In fact, it is natural to experience adverse effects such as pain/reaction on the injection site, dizziness, headache, and fever to name a few. It only proves that the vaccine is doing its work in manufacturing antibodies that will help fight the virus.
Get to know your COVID Vaccines
Are you one of those people who prefer a vaccine that has a greater efficacy rate over the other? You should always remember that the best vaccine is the one already available regardless of the brand. Thus, be guided regarding the COVID vaccines available in the country.
Towards a Safe and Healthy Camella Manors Community
Are you now convinced that vaccines work and are safe? Let’s hear them out from the words of our health experts in the field.
We encourage you to trust the science in vaccines. Rest assured that our utmost priority is this: to make sure that what we do and what we work for will always serve the best interest of the Filipino people. Ang science ay para sa tao (Science is for the people).”
Sec. Fortunato De la Peña, Department of Science and Technology
Being inoculated does not only protect yourself from the severity of the virus, but also your family and community. In fact, no one is safe until everyone is safe. Thus, each member of the community is encouraged to have his immunity boost with COVID-19 vaccines. Once we have achieved a successful herd immunity, then it is when we will be able to go back to our normal lives again.
“Sa ngayon po, tayo ay nasa gitna ng kakulangan. We are still in the middle of the pandemic, so any additional protection we have is a good protection, especially when the vaccine is in your arm. We need to be vaccine literate and we need a vaccine-protected society.”
Dr. Nina T. Castillo-Carandang. National Immunization Technical Group for COVID-19 Sociology, Health, Social Sciences, Global Health, and Social Determinants of Health
Hence, let us all achieve a life lived without masks and shields. Get vaccinated and protect yourself, your loved ones, and your community now.
