No Room for Hesitation

With the COVID-19 pandemic rampaging on the health and livelihoods of the Filipino people, the need for a vaccine is rising to alarming levels. This swift miracle cure, as one may call it, will not only permit the resumption of normal pre-pandemic activities but also relieve the burden of the health sector and kickstart the currently closed economy. In light of this, the Philippine government has been in contact with research and health frontrunners such as the University of Oxford, Pfizer, and Moderna among others in hopes of procuring enough vaccines for the population. From what has been happening though, a lot of red flags are being raised and a lot of government actions can be justifiably criticized.

Choosing the appropriate vaccine

Vaccines generally work by exposing a person’s body to weak doses of a specific disease just enough to trigger an immune response. By this mechanism, the body develops weapons called antibodies that grant significant immunity to the disease when they catch it via infection (World Health Organization, 2020).

COVID-19 vaccines work no different. The only thing that sets specific vaccines apart from each other is the parts that they use from the virus or bacterium. Some use the entire dead body of a pathogen, some use specialized parts, while others use only the genetic material (WHO, 2020).

Those technicalities are mostly for the developmental side of the vaccine. What authoritative bodies should consider when picking vaccines can be summed up into three major factors, the efficacy in trials, the storage requirements of the units, and the price ranges of all options.

The government has inquired on vaccine matters with 7 companies namely, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Novavax, Sinovac, Gamaleya, and Johnson & Johnson (Tomacruz, 2020). With the options laid out, what follows should be assessing what is the most effective through the aforementioned three factors and securing deals with the top-priority company.

As of February 11, all of the said companies have already proceeded to Phase 3 in clinical trials which reveals the efficacy rate or effectiveness of a specific vaccine (Corum, Wee, & Zimmer, 2021). This figure is relevant as it shows how much more protected people are with the vaccine than those without (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). From recent reports, the leaders for efficacy are Moderna and Pfizer both at around 95%, AstraZeneca at 70-90%, and Novavax at 89% (Lewis, McBratney, & Moore, 2021).

This can be one determining factor as Pfizer needs to be stored at -70°C storages which are difficult to sustain in the country as the facilities required for this storage will only

permit distribution to Metro Manila, Cebu City, and Davao City (Jalea, 2021). The rest of the three which sit at either -20°C or 2°C to 8°C will be more available to the provinces.

Lastly for price ranges, AstraZeneca and Novavax reign to be the better choices like these two tally up to P610 and P366 (per unit) respectively, while the other two reaches four digits (Ager, 20201).

With this assessment, it can be easily determined that the best options currently are AstraZeneca and Novavax as is evident in the choices of the local government units in their independent deals for vaccines with Pfizer and Moderna acting as decent substitutes. As of January 13, several LGU’s have secured marketing commitments to AstraZeneca for the procurement of vaccine units (CNN, 2021). However, as simple as the picking process can be, the government is still finding it cumbersome to confidently pick an option.

Rampant Vaccine Hesitancy

From recent news, it has been apparent that the government still has yet to issue an official partner in procuring vaccines for the Filipinos despite already planning out ‘herd immunity’ for the country with a goal of 60% immunization (Tomacruz, 2021). Regardless of the necessary facts and assessments, President Rodrigo Duterte still stands by his words in supporting SinoVac despite some botched clinical trials conducted in Brazil showing 50.4% efficacy (ABS CBN, 2021).

Additionally, issues arising with deals secured with Pfizer have been reported by the end of 2020 when Senator Panfilo Lacson accused Secretary of Health Francisco Duque III of being the one who ‘dropped the ball’ (CNN, 2020).

These issues should not have appeared in the first place as this settles unnecessary anxiety on the people. From past experiences, vaccine hesitancy has proven to be a contributor to disease outbreaks as indecisiveness leaves people to be untrusting and doubtful. This is apparent in the Dengvaxia scandal way back in 2017 (Arkin, 2019), and a Measles outbreak of early 2019 (Department of Health, n.d.).

One can only be left to speculate that some other force involving diplomatic relationships is in the mix which in such case, is ethically and morally wrong especially when lives are at stake. The above two scenarios should not happen again for the COVID-19 vaccine and so stricter and recovery-driven approaches should be set in place.

Systematic Government Action

Procurement and administration of the vaccine are two totally different matters. Despite the deserved criticism on the former, the latter will hopefully move smoothly throughout the year.

Having the frontliners, the senior citizens, people with comorbidities, and the indigents as the priority group for the vaccine is a great approach since it allows these vulnerable people a chance to be able to proceed with their normal lives with less worry. Additionally, it provides safety for the doctors and nurses who take care of patients which will then boost the capabilities of hospitals and medical attention facilities (Jalea, 2021).

One step in the vaccination plan that has received conflicting comments on social media is the method of practicing vaccine administrations in the facilities where they will be given. At first glance, this seems to be great practice as it allows the administrators the practice that they need to carry on mass vaccination smoothly but some flak has been thrown on the concerned officials as the growing impatience of the people led them to believe that these practices are a waste of time as there is no assurance for the vaccine to begin with.

This procurement issue just needs to be addressed quickly by the government as this confounding problem has caused even more inconveniences just like the one stated above.

COVID-19 will remain to be one of the most detrimental events of the generations that have experienced it but it does not stand insurmountable. These issues can be addressed smoothly if the plan is laid out comprehensively and the supply is sufficient. There is no room for hesitation as the solution has been delayed long enough. Any more inaction will spell the doom of the country either from health concerns or economic collapses.

From here on out, the country is up for a bumpy ride as a lot of uncertainties still dwell and a lot of questions still sustain in the minds of the people. With the experience of normal school days, employment, and freedom to travel as inspiration, people will have to criticize what needs to be criticized and cooperate on actions that will need their cooperation. On the other hand, with national recovery and communal development as priorities, the government needs to get their act together by being more transparent and clear with their decisions. Conclusively, proper execution and implementation of plans will just have to be done. There is just no room for hesitation.