The Department of Health on Tuesday asked adults to avoid using injections as a scare tactic to discipline their children to prevent future vaccine hesitancy.
Adults should also reconsider scaring children with a trip to the doctor, said Dr. Anna Ong-Lim of the Department of Health Technical Advisory Group, citing adults who reject vaccinations because of their fear of needles and injections.
"We should actually remind parents, minsan kasi ginagawang panakot 'yung 'sige, dadalhin kita sa doctor, papa-injectionan kita' kung nalilikot 'yung bata o makulit, we really don't want to do that," she told reporters.
"'Di natin maaalis 'yung instances na kailangan talaga natin pumunta sa doctor at magpa-injection kung naaksidente tayo, tayo'y nagkaroon ng animal bite, and we don't have to deal with that kind of fear na na-ingrain na sa mga bata, na dala-dala hanggang pagkatanda kasi it actually impacts on health-seeking behavior."
Ong-Lim also asked parents and guardians to explain the process of vaccination to children before they get the jab so that everyone, including those administering the vaccine, can manage the kids' anxiety.
COVID vaccines remain safe for kids, the DOH said, with only one out of 9,000 inoculated children in the five to 11 age group experiencing rashes, which subsided immediately after medication.
The country aims to vaccine 15.5 million children aged five to 11. On the first day of pilot rollout, more than 13,000 kids received their first dose of FDA-approved reformulated Pfizer vaccines.
This story originally appeared on Reportr.World.
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