UNILAB Inc. (Unilab), though its advocacy program “Alaga sa Kalusugan ng Pamayanan” (Akap), won a Silver Anvil Award during the 57th Anvil Awards in February 2022 for its short video titled “Limang Bagay na Dapat Mong Malaman Tungkol sa Bakuna Laban sa Covid-19” under the category Multimedia/Digital Tool-Audio-Visual Presentation.

As healthcare workers and local leaders grapple with vaccine hesitancy and misinformation at the height of the pandemic and the launch of the national vaccination program, the short video provided clear and accurate answers on the efficacy and safety of the vaccines against the Covid-19 virus.

The video material is a multi-sectoral collaboration and commitment of the Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV), CBCP Episcopal Commission on Health Care

(CBCP-ECHC), Unilab through its External Affairs Division and other partners in creating the video. The Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta) provided creative production expertise. The video featured Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, past president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines and member of the DOH Technical Advisory Group for Pediatric Infectious Diseases who talked about the five important key messages on the Covid-19 vaccines.

Dr. Lim emphasized that the vaccines are free, safe and proven effective, even for those who have co-morbidities. “A fully vaccinated country stands a bigger chance in fully eliminating Covid-19,” she stressed. And with the threat of misinformation, Dr. Lim advised that the public should listen only to real medical experts.

In collaboration with partners from government and non-government organizations, the video reached Filipinos in rural communities and sectors where vaccine hesitancy was high and access to information was limited. With the help of the DOH Regional Offices, The Department of Education, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), CBCP-ECHC, PFV, Catholic Media Network, Akap, Akap Guro CONNECted, Synergeia Foundation and other partner organizations/foundations, the video was shared through various social media pages and radio stations all over the country.

To reach more communities, the video has subtitled versions in five dialects: Ilocano, Bicolano, Ilonggo, Waray and Cebuano and is being used in national vaccination communications.

According to the latest Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard of DOH on March 13, there are already more than 64 million Filipinos who are fully vaccinated, or 71.71 percent of the target population and 11.1 million Filipinos with booster doses. The DOH, Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF) also reported that we have already surpassed the 70 percent of the nation’s target population or 54 million fully vaccinated individuals. Effective communication and collaboration were two identified critical components of increased vaccination uptake in several regions.

“This kind of success can only be realized when different sectors come together with the same goal of saving lives and making sure that every Filipino family is informed, immunized, protected and safe,” says Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, Director IV of the Health Promotion Bureau and Disease Prevention and Control Bureau under the Department of Health.

“Vaccines save lives. We have to continuously sustain the efforts in communicating to the people so that we can ensure that our country, most especially the children, the elderly and those with co-

morbidities, will remain healthy and protected by our public health programs,” adds Dr. Lim.

*The Anvil Awards is the symbol of Excellence in Public Relations and is presented annually by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP). The Anvil is awarded to outstanding public relations programs, tools and practitioners after careful screening by selected PR professionals and judging by a distinguished multi-sectoral jury. (https://www.anvil-awards.prsp.ph)

One can watch the video via this link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=search&v=1761738977361710&external_log_id=09a52a8f-4f5f-4756-bda3-7ba0262dbdc9&q=Limang%20Bagay%20na%20Dapat%20Mong%20Malaman%20Tungkol%20sa%20Bakuna%20Laban%20sa%20COVID-19