Almost 90 percent of adult Filipinos are worried that they may catch the deadly COVID-19, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.
In its latest report, the SWS also found that more people believed "the worst is yet to come" compared to late 2020.
In November 2020, 91 percent of survey respondents said they were worried about catching COVID-19.
Compared to past SWS surveys, worry about catching COVID-19 is much greater than worries about catching other viruses such as Ebola, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
The survey said that more Filipinos this year fear the pandemic will worsen.
"We found a worsening outlook on the COVID-19 crisis as those fearing 'the worst is yet to come' with the COVID-19 crisis rose from 31 percent in November 2020 to 49 percent in May 2021. This is the highest since the 57 percent in July 2020," the pollster said.
"Conversely, those saying 'the worst is behind us' fell from 69 percent in November 2020 to 50 percent in May 2021."
The percentage of those fearing “the worst is yet to come” rose from 31 percent in November 2020 to 50 percent in May 2021 among those who were worried about catching the virus.
The Department of Health said the SWS results show that there is an opportunity to encourage more people to get inoculated.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, during a virtual press briefing, said the DOH would view the survey results in a “positive light.”
Vergeire said vaccination and adherence to health protocols will help contain the transmission of COVID-19.
“We encourage the public to get vaccinated if they are already eligible,” she said in Filipino.
Currently, the Philippines’ vaccination campaign is focused on the top priority groups—health workers, senior citizens, persons with comorbidities, and essential workers.
More than 3.9 million individuals have been vaccinated since the launch of the vaccination campaign in March this year.
Another SWS poll also found that 35 percent of Filipinos remain unsure about getting inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine due to reports of fatalities, distrust of the vaccines, and co-morbidities.
