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The Health Department will launch its COVID-19 vaccination information campaign next week, an important step in convincing skeptical Filipinos that it is safe to get vaccinated with a vaccine that is still in Phase 3 of clinical trials.
The information campaign is crucial, because the controversy over the Dengvaxia dengue vaccine, which was administered to children four years ago through a nationwide vaccination program before the results of clinical trials came out and which turned out to be A risk for those with no prior infection, it continues to scare many Filipinos, prompting a sharp decline in immunization for other vaccines. And even more so because the first COVID-19 vaccine likely to be available for use early next year, CoronaVac, developed by Sinovac Biotech, is manufactured in China, a country that most Filipinos do not trust, according to the surveys.
In addition to Sinovac, the Philippines has also been negotiating with several coronavirus vaccine developers to purchase doses or host phase 3 trials, including Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech. It was announced last Friday that AstraZeneca withdrew its application to conduct phase 3 clinical trials in the Philippines, saying it already had enough data, even though the country had previously secured 2.6 million initial doses of the vaccine, good for around 1, 5 million people through an Agreement of 700 million pesos between the government and the private sector.
CoronaVac, however, remains the Duterte administration’s first choice as the first vaccine to be administered locally, despite earlier allegations that its Chinese manufacturer bribed Beijing drug regulators to secure speedy approvals for vaccines against swine flu and Sars in 2003 and 2009. In China, the Sinovac vaccine is already offered on a first-come, first-served basis and costs 2,000 yuan (nearly P15,000) for two injections. Another vaccine also in trial phase 3, developed by Sinopharm, was launched last September for front-line healthcare workers and officials traveling to high-risk countries.
However, several health experts warned against the rush to launch vaccines against COVID-19, which has already killed nearly 1.6 million worldwide. In a TIME article published last October, Adam Kamradt-Scott, associate professor of global health security at the University of Sydney, called China’s zealous campaign “insane.” He said: “It is an unsound public health practice. We have previous examples of vaccines that have not gone through enough clinical trials and have shown adverse reactions with long-term health consequences. “
The TIME article questioning the aggressive vaccine launch also noted that it may have turned into a “public relations battle,” particularly for China, where the virus originated and which has faced international criticism for how it mishandled the virus. crisis by covering it up and silencing the whistles. blowers. Since then, Beijing has launched a global campaign to save face by competing with other manufacturers to develop the first COVID-19 vaccines and supply them to developing countries, including the Philippines, whose leader sees China as a friend and savior. “The only good thing about China is that you don’t have to beg, you don’t have to beg,” President Duterte said last September, criticizing Western manufacturers for profit and threatening to “kick [their] ass.”
Duterte has pinned his hopes on a vaccine after receiving criticism about his government’s response to the pandemic: first, he was very busy closing the country’s borders in consideration of China’s “sentiments,” then finally imposed draconian measures that they caused millions in tremendous pain. of Filipinos who lost their jobs due to the ensuing economic slowdown. Last week, nine months since the government-imposed lockdowns, Duterte had a huge epiphany when he said he realized that administering COVID-19 tests was “important” in stopping the spread of the virus. The massive tests had been a public outcry since March.
The painstaking and haphazard way in which the Duterte administration has handled the pandemic – last September, to assure Filipinos that a solution was on the way, Duterte declared that vaccination would be done at police stations – has inspired little trust among the public . A recent SWS survey revealed that only 32 percent of Filipinos would “definitely” receive the COVID-19 vaccine, while 34 percent said they will “likely” vaccinate themselves.
Counteract such widespread suspicion and skepticism by directly and appropriately answering questions from the public: When will the vaccination take place? Who will be inoculated first? Where and how will it be administered? How much will it cost? And, not least, is it safe? It should be top of mind when DOH launches its COVID-19 vaccination information campaign this week. You cannot drop the ball on this critical and profoundly momentous undertaking.
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