Women, mothers in particular, take on multiple roles – mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and the list can go on but one Mommy Blogger from Bacolod City took on yet another role to add on to the list, a vaccine advocate.

Maria Sigrid Lo, a mother of two, together with her husband Dennis, took a personal crusade at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, using her blog platforms www.lovinglymama.com, www.sigridsays.com and her personal social media handles to convince as many Bacolodnons to avail of free anti-COVID-19 vaccines as her campaign hashtag #GetVaxxedBCD suggests.

Sigrid had their reservations about the COVID vaccine and their uncertainties were greatly influenced by the proliferation of fake news and conspiracy theories being spread on social media and in private groups.

One year later, that same #GetVaxxedBCD vaccination advocacy campaign brought Mommy Sigrid to the halls of the Little Theatre of the University of the Philippines Visayas in Iloilo City to receive not just one but three awards for the 1st Bantala UPV Media Excellence Awards – and a lone Bacolodnon awardee for the whole Western Visayas.

Mommy Sigrid bagged three of the 10 awards namely- Story of the Year for Blog, In-Depth Report of the Year for Blog, and In-Depth Report of the Year for Social Media given by the Bantala awards which seeks to recognize outstanding media practitioners in the region, as the name suggests “Bantala,” which means to announce and publish Ilonggo journalists in the likes of Graciano Lopez-Jaena, Flavio Zarragoza Cano, and Conrado Norada.

to achieve a safer society. My own children have read books and articles on medical history and they have watched TED Talks on the vaccine. At a young age, they are able to make the decision for themselves to get vaccinated in order to be protected from the debilitating or even deadly effects of the coronavirus. With this, I passionately campaigned for the vaccine through my social media posts. No hate, just information to convince people to get vaccinated,” Mommy Sigrid shared.

For Mommy Sigrid and her family, they feel safer nowadays, because most people are vaccinated, people still wear masks, and the cases are down and would hear from frontliner friends that the COVID wards situation and their workplaces are no longer as toxic.

Freelance writer, blogger, wife, daughter, sister, friend and mother Mommy Sigrid said these blessings are extra sweeter as this falls on the celebration of the National Women’s Month. (AAL/EAD/PIA6 Negros Occidental)