ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
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Sunday, December 20, 2020 Vol. 16 No. 73
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
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DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY
DATA CHAMPION
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Filipinos cling to faith, positivity during pandemic, as millions anxiously await first vaccine rollout
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By Erica Torres
AITH, positive outlook and cure from natural medicines emerged as survival guides of Filipinos during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the sentiment analysis of a research firm.
Their sentiments provide a counterpoint to the mixed feelings people have for the vaccines being touted as the possible end to the pandemic, but also fraught with risks from side effects and unforeseen dangers. On Friday morning, radio reports cited the order of Manila City Hall for the police to track continuing information that unauthorized immunizations, allegedly involving Chinese-made vaccines, were being done in the Binondo district. The swirl of stories paints the double-edged promise posed by vaccines—a possible, early cure or shield against Covid-19, but also a solution fraught with risk for the early users. The public discussions on social-media platform Facebook, where Filipinos are engaged for more than nine hours a day, showed
apprehensions on the promises of anti-Covid-19 vaccines, even as the world grapples to find scientific solutions to the pandemic. “The public suspicion against the Covid vaccine is starting to be framed as an opportunity for the hospital to make money, generating potential ripple for upcoming vaccination, and Covid-related economic and public-order issues,” according to the analysis of BluPrint.PH on Filipino sentiments on health during the pandemic. BluPrint.PH with its Singapore-based partner on data mining and artificial intelligence analyzed 145 million native posts from September to November on how the Filipinos value their health during the pandemic. The data were gathered from the readers’ engagement based on likes, shares and complexity of comments. Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.0590
THE traditional belen is not spared from strict health protocols, as seen in this installation at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, also known as the Baclaran Church, on Wednesday, December 16, 2020. BERNARD TESTA
n JAPAN 0.4661 n UK 65.2930 n HK 6.1996 n CHINA 7.3541 n SINGAPORE 36.2627 n AUSTRALIA 36.6258 n EU 58.9684 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.8106
Source: BSP (December 18, 2020)
NARUEMON MONDEE | DREAMSTIME.COM
SCIENCE FOR CURE, BUT ALSO, FAITH