Six out of 10 Filipinos prefer to receive COVID-19 vaccines that are made in the U.S., pollster SWS said, highlighting the challenge for authorities to convince the public against brand preference.
Of the 1,200 respondents in the April 28 to May 2 Social Weather Stations poll, 63% said they preferred vaccines from the U.S., followed by China (19%), Japan (13%), Australia (13%), United Kingdom (13%), Canada (12%), Russia (12%), Germany (8%), Korea (6%), and India (3%).
In terms of brand, 39% of the respondents said they prefer China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, while 33% chose American-brand Pfizer-BioNTech, SWS said. The Oxford-AstraZeneca (22%) was third followed by Johnson & Johnson (10%), Moderna (7%), CureVac (3%), Sinopharm (3%), Novavax (3%), Sanofi-GSK (3%), and Gamaleya (2%).
The survey also showed that 76% of those who prefer China as the source of the vaccine also chose Sinovac as their preferred brand.
Pfizer (43%) and Sinovac (41%) were equally chosen by those who prefer US as the source of COVID-19 vaccines. Similarly, AstraZeneca was also the preferred brand of those who chose the United Kingdom.
Prior to the release of the survey results, the Department of the Interior and Local Government had instructed local government units not to inform people of the COVID-19 vaccine brand they would get until their arrival in the immunization center, saying this would discourage brand preference.
The new policy was prompted by the long lines at vaccine sites distributing the high-efficacy Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
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