Sound info drive crucial

The Department of Health is set to roll out this coming week its information campaign on COVID-19 vaccination, an important step in convincing skeptical Filipinos that it is safe to get inoculated with a vaccine that is still in Phase 3 of clinical trials.

The information drive is crucial, because the controversy over dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, which was administered on children four years ago through a nationwide vaccination program before the results of clinical trials came out and which turned out to pose risks for those without prior infection, continues to spook many Filipinos—causing a steep decline in immunization for other vaccines. And even more so because the first COVID-19 vaccine likely available for use early next year—CoronaVac, developed by Sinovac Biotech—is made in China, a country that majority of Filipinos do not trust, according to surveys.

Aside from Sinovac, the Philippines has also been negotiating with several developers of the coronavirus vaccine to procure doses or host Phase 3 trials, including Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech. It was announced Last Friday that AstraZeneca has withdrawn its application to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials in the Philippines, saying it already had enough data, although the country had earlier secured an initial 2.6 million doses of the vaccine good for about 1.5 million people through a P700-million deal between the government and private sector.

CoronaVac, however, remains the Duterte administration’s top choice as the first vaccine to be administered locally, despite previous allegations that its Chinese maker bribed Beijing’s drug regulators to secure quick approvals for the Sars and swine flu vaccines 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 Phase 3 testing, developed by Sinopharm, was rolled out last September to frontline health workers and officials traveling to high-risk nations.

Several health experts, however, have cautioned against the rush in rolling out vaccines for COVID-19, which has already killed almost 1.6 million globally. In a TIME article published last October, Adam Kamradt-Scott, associate professor specializing in global health security at the University of Sydney, called China’s zealous campaign “insane.” He said: “It is just unsound public health practice. We have previous examples of where vaccines that have not gone through sufficient clinical trials have demonstrated adverse reactions with long-term health consequences.”

The TIME article questioning the aggressive rollout of vaccines also noted that it may have become a “PR battle” particularly for China, where the virus originated and which has faced international criticism for the way it mishandled the crisis through covering it up and silencing whistle-blowers. Since then, Beijing has launched a global campaign to save face by racing with other manufacturers to develop the first COVID-19 vaccines and supplying them to developing countries, including the Philippines, whose leader happens to look at China as a friend and savior. “The one good thing about China is you do not have to beg, you do not have to plead,” President Duterte said last September, criticizing Western manufacturers for being profit-oriented and threatening to “kick [their] ass.”

Mr. Duterte has pinned his hopes on a vaccine after receiving criticisms on his administration’s response to the pandemic —  first, dilly-dallying on closing the country’s borders in consideration of China’s “feelings,” then eventually imposing draconian measures that caused tremendous pain to millions of Filipinos who lost jobs due to the ensuing economic slowdown. Last week, nine months since the government-imposed lockdowns, Mr. Duterte had a major epiphany when he said that he realized administering COVID-19 tests was “important” in stopping the spread of the virus. Mass testing had been a public clamor since March.

The plodding, haphazard way with which the Duterte administration has handled the pandemic — last September, to assure Filipinos that a solution was on its way, Mr. Duterte declared that vaccination would be done in police stations — has inspired little confidence among the public. A recent SWS survey revealed that only 32 percent of Filipinos would “definitely” get the COVID-19 vaccine, while 34 percent said they will “probably” have themselves vaccinated.

Countering such widespread suspicion and skepticism, by forthrightly and adequately answering the public’s questions — When will the vaccination happen? Who will be inoculated first? Where and how will it be administered? How much will it cost? And, not least, is it safe? — should be top of mind when the DOH rolls out its COVID-19 vaccination information campaign this week. It cannot drop the ball on this critical, profoundly consequential undertaking.