As Covid-19 cases are on the rise, a Catholic archbishop urged the public to get inoculated and warned against misinformation about vaccines.

Archbishop Jose Cabantan of Cagayan de Oro urged the people not to believe in hearsays and only listen to health experts.

“May we not be misled by erroneous fears or deceived by the latest misinformation in social media. Rather, in fidelity to Mother Church may we confidently follow the correct medical and ethical advice,” Cabantan said in a statement released Aug. 23.

The archbishop believes more people still need to be vaccinated to slow the transmission of coronavirus.

“We pray that through vaccination, we can begin to curb the scourge of the pandemic,” he said.

Cabantan said the archdiocese’s stand on vaccination is in accordance with the declarations of ranking church leaders, led by no less than Pope Francis.

In January, the pope said that people have the moral obligation to receive vaccines as it is a “simple but profound way of promoting the common good and caring for each other”.

Cabantan also noted how the Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, in December 2020, had declared that vaccination is morally acceptable against the Covid-19 as all vaccines are recognized as clinically safe and effective.

The CBCP, in their Pastoral Letter on Covid-19 vaccines in January 2021, welcomed all the efforts to produce vaccines and called for its fair distribution.

While some people refused to be vaccinated, the archbishop stressed the importance of doing everyone’s part to avoid the spread of the virus.

“Of course, some with comorbidities and following the advice of their doctors may not avail of vaccination. To these, and those who for reasons of conscience do not wish to be vaccinated, they must all still do their utmost to avoid becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent,” he said.