Multisectoral Approach on COVID-19 vaccination: a proposed solution on vaccine hesitancy

Abstract

As COVID-19 cases rise in one of Southeast Asia’s worst-hit nations, low public trust in vaccines will be a huge block in the government’s vaccination program. In a recent survey in January 2021 which was conducted by Pulse Asia, nearly half of Filipinos said that they would not get vaccinated against COVID-19 due to safety concerns. A proposed solution would be a Multisectoral Approach (MSA). MSA refers to the deliberate collaboration among various stakeholder groups (e.g. government, civil society and private and religious sectors) and sectors (e.g. health, environment and economy) to achieve a policy outcome. By engaging multiple sectors, such as interfaith collaborations, governments can leverage knowledge, expertise, reach and resources, benefiting from their combined and varied strengths as they work toward the shared goal of building public trust on vaccines.