PH gov’t to impose vaccination plan against COVID-19

To mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus and its impacts, the Philippine government is set to administer a nationwide immunization movement with the ratification of the Philippine National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 Vaccines.

National Task Force Against COVID-19 uploaded on their site the approved Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Resolution No. 95 memorandum dated January 26.

The said memorandum explains how the government engages with foreign institutions regarding vaccine development and how vaccines were evaluated and selected.

Currently, the vaccine panel has selected 11 vaccines namely Sinovac, Sinopharm, Novavax, and Clover. Vaccine candidates AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech were only added to the vaccine list for emergency use.

Moreover, the national plan also clarifies the prioritization mechanism for vaccine administration. Health workers, senior citizens, the indigent population, and the uniformed personnel comprises Group A. Meanwhile, other frontline workers and special populations are under Group B, and the remaining Philippine population is under Group C.

The monitoring of adverse effects after vaccine administration was also expounded in the memorandum. Monitoring by a surveillance officer and reporting will be done every two weeks for the first two months, then monthly for one year. Vaccinated people may also opt to report to the Food and Drug Administration or the vaccine manufacturer.

Furthermore, the presidential palace has also clarified that even after the implementation of this national vaccine plan, quarantines will still be implemented.

According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles, the laxation of quarantine implementation would rely on the health authorities’ advice.

“Once the vaccines take effect and cases fall, we will consider easing the quarantines,” Nograles said.

Meanwhile, despite the government’s advances to implement the said vaccination plan, a recent Pulse Asia survey has concluded that almost half of the Filipinos are still opposed to immunization due to safety apprehensions.

In line with this, former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabralin, in a briefing in Malacañang on February 4, 2021, also called for the health sectors to lead the information campaign on COVID-19 vaccines.

Cabral stressed that health care providers should be playing a major role in the information campaign because people trust them the most in health information delivery.

"I think they will believe the healthcare providers more than politicians or attorneys," Cabral emphasized.

The Philippine government aims to vaccinate 50 million to 70 million Filipinos this year, as the first batch of coronavirus vaccines is set to arrive in the Philippines this February.

Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III also insists that although it is not guaranteed that everything will return to normal for the next two years, herd immunity should be achieved this year.

“This is the best-case scenario”, admitted Duque.