Review of Related Literature

Local Studies

“Building public trust in COVID-19 vaccines through the Catholic Church in the
Philippines”

According to a recent correspondence, creating public confidence would be an

reasonable response to public COVID-19 vaccine anxiety. Despite the government's
efforts to establish a vaccination program, some people remain hesitant in obtaining
the vaccine due to the vaccine's possible risks. Additionally, the effectiveness of
vaccines is still in question. In the Philippines, people are also hesitant due to the
Dengvaxia controversy in February 2018, when the alleged vaccine caused over 100
deaths. One way to regain Filipinos' trust and confidence in vaccination is for
Catholic bishops to be publicly vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine.

As stated by The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

(CBCP), Archbishop Romulo Valles, told that he was inspired by Pope Francis’ and
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s when they were vaccinated publicly on 13 January
2021. Francis supports vaccination, defining it as an ethical action in which people
risk their own lives and the lives of others. The CBCP also said that Filipino bishops
are prepared to undergo the procedure in front of the public and even in front of
television if it helps generate confidence in the government's vaccine program in
reducing public fear of immunization. The Filipino bishops' campaign aims to
encourage people to get vaccinated, particularly the poorest of the poor.This is also an
invitation of Pope Francis during his address on Christmas day 2020: that the
government leaders, corporations and international organizations may develop
cooperation in promoting vaccines for everyone especially the most vulnerable and
needy before all others.

According to Fr Nicanor Austriaco, OP, due to the pandemic’s anxiety Filipinos no

longer rely solely on science. People trust their Church's leaders more. As a result, the
CBCP is supporting and coordinating with the Philippine government in vaccinating
the 70 million Filipinos against the new corona virus in 2021 to achieve herd
immunity. Valles has already made the first step by providing Catholic churches as
immunization facilities for the government.

“Strategic recovery plan during COVID-19 toward herd immunity in the

Philippines”
According to recent reports, there is resistance in certain countries to receiving
COVID-19 vaccination. This resistance is influenced by a variety of factors. With
this, if we are to promote COVID-19 vaccination, government officials must build
public trust in order to reduce citizen skepticism. As a result, this article proposes that
in order to build public trust, officials must demonstrate the true essence of the
common good and public service in order for their constituents to trust them with their
decisions.

Dela Cruz et al (2021)pointed out the importance of transparency among government

officials in gaining the trust of Filipino citizens in promoting vaccination in the
Philippines. These two articles provided valuable insights into the important key
characteristics of government officials in addressing the need for efficient COVID-19
vaccination, which could lead to increased public confidence and decreased vaccine
hesitancy.

According to Vergara (2021) despite the government's efforts to urge the public to
join in the COVID-19 vaccination program, vaccine hesitancy remains a major
concern in the Philippines. While several efforts have been made to enhance COVID-
19 vaccination safety and efficacy, the Philippine government must consider societal
traumas as a factor in vaccine anxiety.

“Emphasizing truthfulness in COVID-19 test declarations”

Faking COVID-19 diagnostic tests and vaccine certifications, according to past

communication, raises major ethical and economic implications. As a result, we
emphasize the significance of being genuine in declaring COVID-19 diagnostic test
findings and immunization certificates in this work. It is also underlined in this study
that honesty and transparency in regard to the results and certificates are required in
guaranteeing public health and increasing awareness during the COVID-19 pandemic
in order to ensure public health and promote awareness.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, honesty is defined as the trait of being truthful and
free of deception, which is necessary in human relationships. This attribute is critical
in ensuring public health. As Robert Feldman stated 'It's important, during this
pandemic, to be honest, stay at home and wear a mask, to practice social
distance,'.According to the Centers for Disease Control the public's ability to obtain
accurate updates and current status of this infectious disease will be harmed if
COVID-19 test certification and information are faked and falsified during the
pandemic.

The face is the only "thing" that metaphorically breaks through existence, According
to Emmanuel Levinas' Philosophy on "the face of the other." It means seeing the face
of the other is a way of substitution, which leads to realization of putting oneself into
the situation of the other person. People who deal with the pandemic situation in
every country, such as healthcare professionals, hospital administrators, data analysts,
and government officials, are responsible for processing and communicating data
about COVID-19 infections, and they are expected to follow their ethical obligations
in presenting the truth.
References:

(1)Vatican News. Pope Francis and the Pope emeritus receive Covid-19 vaccine.
Dicasterium pro Communicatione, Vatican City, 14 January 2021.
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-01/pope-francis-benedict-xvi-covid-
19-vaccine.html (03 February 2021, date last accessed).
(2)Torres J. Philippines Catholic bishops allay people’s fears about COVID-19
vaccines. LICAS.NEWS, Philippines, 28 January 2021.
https://www.licas.news/2021/01/28/philippine-catholic-bishops-allay-peoples-fears-
about-covid-19-vaccines/ (03 February 2021, date last accessed).
(3)The Blade Live. CBCP: Ethical and Scientific Issues of COVID-19 Vaccinations
by Rev. Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, OP [Video]. YouTube. United States, 2021.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjmt0IlFI-0.
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(6)Vergara RJD. Social trauma as a contributory factor in Filipino’s vaccine
hesitancy. J Public Health 2021. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdab110.Google Scholar
Crossref
(7)Feldman R. The truth about lying during the COVID-19
pandemic. https://www.cns.umass.edu/news-events/news/truth-about-lying-during-
covi.... (6 March 2021, date last accessed).
(8) Sarmiento PJD, Yap JFC, Espinosa KAG et al. The truth must prevail: citizens’
rights to know the truth during the era of COVID-19. J Public Health
2020;fdaa240.10.1093/pubmed/fdaa240. - DOI - PMC - PubMed