Tagbilaran City Mayor Baba Yap called on the public to look into experts’ views and follow news on the safety and efficacy of the available COVID-19 vaccines to allay their apprehensions on getting inoculated, which the local chief executive saw to be the only solution to the health crisis at the time.

Yap issued his appeal on Tuesday after noticing some residents expressing doubts over the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines as the local government unit announced having hashed out a deal with UK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the drugmaker to supply vaccines to the city.

“Based sa estorya sa mga taw, naay uban na dili pa kaayo komportable, naay uban na dili kay mahimo kunong zombie, naay puy ingon na unahon kuno ang mayor tan-awon kuno kung ma buhi pa ba nighuman og bakuna so daghan kaayong negative comments bahin aning mga bakuna,” Yap said.

According to Yap, the LGU will also launch an information campaign highlighting the results of the clinical trials of the vaccines including their efficacy and safety.

The vaccines for the city are expected to be available in the second half of the year giving time to residents to get updates on the vaccination drives in larger countries such as the United States which has already started to inoculate its frontliners.

“So far sa [United] States kasugod na sila sa ilang frontliners, sa uban mga countries gasugod na g’yud pud sa ilang mga taw. By the time na mo abot na ang atong mga bakuna, mahuna na ang mga dagko na countries og bakuna, makakita pud ta unsay resulta didto effective ba g’yud ni siya,” he said.

The local chief executive however assured that no resident will be forced to get vaccinated.

He said that the LGU has started a pre-registration program to identify how many residents are willing to have themselves inoculated.

Yap earlier announced that the city was already finalizing its deal with AstraZeneca.

He said that the city is initially ordering 30,000 doses of the British firm’s two-dose vaccine, meaning 15,000 residents will get the free inoculation.

The city which has a population of over 100,000 will be ordering more doses if needed as the mayor noted that the LGU had considered that both the Capitol and national government also allotted their own budgets for the procurement of vaccines.

He said that while the national government is leaning towards the purchase of vaccines from China’s Sinovac, the city would be able to offer the AstraZeneca option to residents who prefer to get the British company’s vaccine which has a higher efficacy rate based on clinical trials.

In a survey over station dyRD’s “Inyong Alagad” program earlier this week, it was apparent that many Boholanos were apprehensive in getting vaccinated particularly if the doses will be coming from a Chinese drugmaker.

Meanwhile, a Pulse Asia survey conducted between Nov. 23 and Dec. 2, 2020 found that 32 percent of 2,400 respondents would get a COVID-19 vaccine jab when available, while 47 percent would refuse it over safety concerns.

The remaining 21 percent were undecided, the poll showed. (A. Doydora)