Degrees of Freedom

While healthcare workers continue calls for safe and effective vaccination plans, other frontliners have opted to join the first vaccine rollout in the country using China’s Sinovac jabs despite much caution over ambiguous efficacy rates, various side effects, as well as its exorbitant price. It is further alarming that supply issues, which could have been addressed had someone not ‘dropped the ball’, have restricted vaccine choices. These niche cover-ups of government blunders as well as the subtle inclination to the Chinese jab make it clear: The right to healthcare, as well as the freedom of choice have been compromised.

In the frontlines: Health workers continue calls for safe and effective vaccination campaigns amid the arrival of CoronaVac shots.Photo lifted from Al Jazeera

The Philippines welcomed March with the arrival of its first batch of vaccines, CoronaVac. While Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. likened the vaccine as ‘doses of hope’, much of the health-force remains reluctant to receive these, especially when clinically more effective shots were promised for them, specifically, Pfizer and AstraZeneca. These ‘doses of hope’ were also met with various fears and qualms from the public as much remains a mystery about the efficacy of this vaccine.

However, since the first dose was injected to Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi, little by little, more frontline workers have enrolled in the vaccination campaign, as is the case with PGH Nurse Chareluck Santos who administered the first dose. Santos was later inoculated with CoronaVac saying the best vaccine is the one that is already available. This then begs the question, must we get vaccinated for the sake of being vaccinated, or must it be for the sake of safety and well-being?

Needless to say, getting vaccinated is our duty as citizens. However, like Santos, other healthcare workers now want to take CoronaVac simply because it is the only available option at the moment. The problem with this approach to vaccination is that it puts emphasis on urgency rather than on efficacy. Had CoronaVac been, say, less than 50 percent effective as current studies suggest and more ambiguous on its data, and that it is the only option available, our healthcare workers will be forced to get those shots for the sake of being vaccinated at an earlier time. This gives very low chances of protection to our frontliners and it also puts them in danger of unknown risks and side effects brought by ambiguous data.

Placing emphasis on urgency is not solely a demerit, since urgency is the reason why scientists around the world were able to develop vaccines in record time in accordance to WHO standards. And, it is indeed imperative that herd immunity be achieved as soon as possible. The sooner this is achieved, the sooner we are able to jumpstart our economy. This will allow for thousands of Filipinos a chance at employment and hundreds of others the liberty to enjoy life as it was before the pandemic. But, ‘soon’ in Philippine contexts has been way too long after over a year of strict lockdown measures which highlight the need for a sense of urgency (which should have been present a year ago). With all that in mind, accepting the first internationally accredited vaccine that knocks on our doors would be a no-brainer. These international standards exist to remind people that no matter how much of a rush we are in, in stopping the spread of COVID-19, we must also take into account the potential losses we can incur should hasty actions be done.

Additionally, it is also worth noting that other local political figures are also doing their best in boosting campaigns for vaccination albeit with CoronaVac. Mayors Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian, Manila City Mayor ‘Isko’ Moreno, and Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto have all expressed their support to the national vaccination campaign, citing the same reason as Santos, but with much emphasis towards their local health-force. This is reassuring for the most part. This allows for public trust in vaccines to grow after issues like the Dengvaxia case, as well as the rise in anti-vaxxers have become commonplace.

As Sotto puts it, data will prove whether confidence levels [in getting vaccinated] are improving. Public trust in vaccines plays a major role in achieving herd immunity, because even when presented with the best option, people may still opt-out of vaccination due to mistrust and misinformation. In the case of CoronaVac, it is in the best interest of the people to have their data published to peer-review and check its true efficacy.

Conversely, prioritizing safe and effective vaccines is also of importance. As much as people want the pandemic to end, it is also important to do this in a manner that puts the welfare, especially of frontline workers, on top. In hindsight, prioritizing efficacy will take longer and will only prolong suffering. However, the reality is that parts of the world have done this already. Take the case of New Zealand. New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to lift COVID-19 restrictions, as well as secure clinically safe vaccines for its entire population. All that born out of competent leadership and science. This shows that it is possible to achieve a balance between the dichotomy of urgency and efficacy now seen in the Philippines. But, it is worth examining why this dichotomy exists in the first place.

Ideally, people should have the liberty to vaccinate. This includes the liberty to choose what vaccine they want to take regardless of its reported efficacy. Towards the end of 2020, the Health Department was already in talks with different vaccine producers to secure doses for the Philippines. However, much shade has been thrown over this, after Health Secretary Francisco Duque III allegedly ‘dropped the ball’ in his Pfizer deal, which greatly delayed shipment to the country. Among other issues are the scandalous Presidential Security Group’s vaccination using smuggled vaccines, the Food and Drug Administration’s confusing recommendations for the use of Sinovac, as well as seemingly misplaced priorities and politics that get in the way of dealing with this unseen enemy. All of these issues have snowballed and led to the current situation the country faces. Ultimately, not only is the freedom of choice compromised but more so the right to proper healthcare by forcing frontline workers and the public to settle with what is available.

These compromises to our fundamental rights are reasons for which we must continue to demand accountability and the prioritization of dealing with COVID-19 no matter how late in the game the Philippines is. Even then, it is never too late to strike a balance between urgency and efficacy by effectively devising strategies with utmost urgency. As members of society at the most primary level, it is our responsibility to spread awareness regarding vaccinations first to those closest to us, then rallying these clamors where government officials are not deaf alongside our frontliners.

In the end, no matter what degree of freedom we are left within this mess of a pandemic response, we must do our best to maximize our means, especially if this spells the greater good. After all, what matters most about freedom is not the number of things we are permitted to do, but the good we can make out of it to improve our state of living. Inevitably, that is the responsibility of having the freedom to be free.