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Health workers on Monday denounced official “inconsistent” policies on the use of the coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, saying this raised questions about whether they were only being provided safe and highly effective vaccines. Employees of the Lung Center in the Philippines belonging to the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) nationwide staged a lunchtime protest to show their dismay at the launch of the Sinovac vaccine, CoronaVac.
“We are dismayed by the sudden change in the government’s decision to vaccinate healthcare workers with [the vaccine from] Sinovac, sacrificing the health and safety of healthcare workers, ”said AHW National President Robert Mendoza.
Not recommended by the FDA
He said healthcare workers were asking why the government proceeded to use CoronaVac, 600,000 doses of which were donated by China, even if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not recommend it for healthcare workers, elderly and people with existing diseases. .
“The government must not hand us the burden of building public confidence [in vaccines]. It is the government’s responsibility to provide the best vaccine and guarantee its safety and efficacy in a consistent and transparent manner, ”Mendoza said.
Dr. Eric Domingo, the head of the FDA, received an injection of CoronaVac at the Philippine General Hospital on Monday, contrary to his own verdict on February 22 that the vaccine is not the best for healthcare workers. caring for COVID-19 patients from a clinic. A trial in Brazil showed it to have a barely passable 50.4 percent efficacy.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who was at the Lung Center to oversee the start of the government’s vaccination program, rejected the injection, invoking the FDA’s recommendation against its use for older people like him.
Experts from the interim National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (Nitag) and the Department of Health Technical Advisory Group (TAG) did not support the recommendation not to administer CoronaVac to healthcare workers, but supported the rest of the scope of the authorization of FDA emergency use.
The immunization group acknowledged the FDA’s position that “current data does not support” the use of the Sinovac vaccine among healthcare workers, but recommended giving them the “autonomy” to decide “in the absence of any other COVID- vaccine. 19 available “. “
The government’s priority list was also pushed aside, as several government officials, including head of vaccine purchases Carlito Gálvez Jr., were among the first to receive CoronaVac injections that were supposed to be only for workers at the health and uniformed personnel.
Necessary evaluation
The Health Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 (HPAAC) previously urged the government to postpone the launch until the Sinovac vaccine could be evaluated by the Technical Health Assessment Council (HTAC), an independent advisory body to DOH.
Mendoza said the government’s “ever-changing” pronouncements betrayed the government’s “insistence” to use the Sinovac vaccine despite its low efficacy.
“There are better options for vaccines with high efficacy rates … Do they really want us to think there are kickbacks with Sinovac?” he said.
Senator Joel Villanueva said the government could better honor healthcare workers by giving them options about which vaccine to use.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said it was the government’s duty to expand the supply of vaccines.
“It shouldn’t be from just one country, but from the whole world: the best vaccines that the best human minds have developed,” Recto said.
Other vaccines
Senator Grace Poe, head of the Senate public services committee, urged the government to include drivers and other transportation industry workers in its priority groups, as their services were key to the country’s economic recovery.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said that while the country was grateful for the vaccine donation from China, the government should also inform Filipinos that “most” of the vaccines were expected from the global procurement group COVAX.
The Philippines is reportedly one of 92 poor countries eligible to receive free COVAX vaccines. He is reportedly qualified to receive 5.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 117,000 “subsidized” doses of the Pfizer injection.
Senator Risa Hontiveros also urged the government to ensure that there is an ample supply of vaccines for all Filipinos.
“After the euphoria of the first day on the first puncture, let’s make sure there is a sufficient supply of vaccines that is adequate and reaches everyone,” Hontiveros said.
—WITH A REPORT FROM MELVIN GASCON INQ
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