A TOP official of the University of the Philippines Visayas urged Filipinos to register for the government’s vaccination program.

Chancellor Clement Camposano said that the low level of acceptance for the vaccine is “truly disturbing.”

“Our country is being ravaged by this virus for over a year now and, now that vaccines are starting to become available, many people do not want to be vaccinated. They need to understand that getting themselves vaccinated is their civic duty. There are, of course, people who have been led to believe that these vaccines are harmful, and we appeal to them to open their minds to science,” Camposano said.

He said that the university should be an active partner of the city and provincial governments in the vaccination program.

“This is made more urgent now, given the problem of misinformation and disinformation. Last month, Bakuna Iloilo, a group of concerned citizens composed of UPV alumni, medical practitioners, and private individuals, launched a campaign to raise awareness about Covid19 vaccines. UP Visayas hosted the event,” the university official said.

“Imagine, we are facing a global pandemic, and you have people using the internet and social media to either peddle unfounded fears about vaccines or, worse, promote the use of veterinary products as a cure for Covid19. I respect their right to their opinions, but I cannot respect opinions built on ignorance, especially when such opinions are deleterious to public health,” he said.

The low turnout of the pre-registration for the Covid19 vaccination in Iloilo City prompted Mayor Jerry Treñas to appeal to the residents to go to their respective barangays.

So far, only 59,000 have registered out of the 320,000 target of the local government unit.