By Artchil B. Fernandez
Du30 and his administration have earned another unique distinction, perhaps the only one in the world. The Philippine government is likely the sole one in the world that sabotaged its own vaccination program amid the rampaging Covid-19 pandemic. That this incident came after the Philippines became the last country in ASEAN (another record-holder) to roll-out vaccination is the latest testament to the ineptness of Du30 as a leader.
Finally, vaccination has started in the country but this is of no comfort to Filipinos as the vaccination roll-out is riddled with controversy and highly suspicious action of the Du30 administration. Instead of a resounding success which would have soothed public anxiety as the pandemic ravages the land, the roll-out turned out to be a vaccination debacle that only inflamed public distrust of the vaccine.
Originally, vaccination in the country should have started in the middle of February with the arrival of 117,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines through the COVAX global initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO). The delivery was aborted by the Du30 administration when it failed to submit a no-fault or indemnity clause. The administration made it appear this was a last-minute requirement but it turned out it has been stipulated in the agreement since October 2020.
The delayed delivery of Pfizer vaccine insured that China vaccine Sinovac donated by the Chinese government is the first legal vaccine to arrive in the country (the smuggled Sinopharm vaccine was the first to enter the country albeit illegal and was injected clandestinely to the PSG).
A triumphant Du30 personally greeted the arrival of 600,000 Sinovac vaccines on the last day of last month profusely thanking his masters in Beijing for the donation. Du30 delivered a propaganda coup to China, his liege. Du30 is the first leader of the country to shamelessly publicly display his puppetry and subservience to a foreign power. Past presidents sugarcoated and concealed their servility to create the pretense of independence but not Du30. He lavishly worships China openly, a proud puppet.
Sinovac approval for use in the country is shrouded with mystery and is highly questionable. Its maker applied for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) but the Philippine FDA said it will take time for its approval since data on its phase-3 clinical trial were not submitted to the agency. Pfizer on the other hand is the first vaccine to secure EUA in the country since it submitted complete documentation.
The impending arrival of Sinovac without EUA put Du30 in a bind. Without EUA, the China vaccine cannot be used. A week before the arrival of the Sinovac vaccine, the FDA suddenly gave it EUA but recommended it cannot be injected into health workers and senior citizens since its efficacy is only 50.4 percent. This half-baked authorization is problematic since at the top of the list to be vaccinated are health workers and seniors.
Ignoring the FDA recommendation, the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (Nitag) and the Department of Health (DOH) said Sinovac can be injected into health workers. Few days before the arrival of Sinovac vaccine, FDA said health workers may take the vaccine if they wish. These developments only fueled public suspicion that arm-twisting and under-handed means had been employed to force the use of the China vaccine despite lack of data and absence of publication of the results of its clinical trials in peer-reviewed and reputable medical journals.
Under Du30’s sultanistic regime, what Du30 wants, Du30 gets. Vaccination started this week under the cloud of doubt and controversy. Du30 and his health officials’ open pimping for the China vaccine had disastrous consequences to the roll-out. Health workers in UP-PGH who wanted to be vaccinated dropped from 90 percent to only 8 percent when they heard that Sinovac instead of the originally promised Pfizer vaccine with 95 percent efficacy. Physicians at UP-PGH demand that Sinovac should first undergo appraisal by the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) before it is administered to health workers.
Instead of thousands of health workers in pilot hospitals in Metro Manila getting vaccinated on the roll-out day, only 756 allowed themselves to be injected with Sinovac. Only 178 of the 1,911 health workers at Tala Hospital chose to be vaccinated while 20 health workers in the Lung Center, a key fortress in the battle against COVID-19 agreed to receive the China vaccine with 90 percent preferring the Pfizer vaccine.
The reluctance and resistance of health workers to be vaccinated with Du30 forcing them into a situation to take the China vaccine torpedoed the vaccination program for the rest of the population. OCTA Research survey done from January 26 to February 1, 2021 reveals only 19 percent Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated while 46 percent are unwilling. This confirms the Pulse Asia survey last December 2020 that 47 percent of Filipinos do not want to be vaccinated. Given the highly suspicious circumstances in the use of Sinovac in the country and the refusal of the vast majority of health workers to take the vaccine, this will make it hard to convince the rest of Filipinos to be vaccinated.
As for Du30 and his favorite Health Secretary Duque, both refused to be injected with Sinovac citing the recommendation of FDA that it should not be administered to senior citizens. What hypocrisy! They follow FDA advice when it concerns them while ignoring the same when it comes to health workers.
Du30’s devious maneuver to impose the China vaccine on the nation led to the debacle in the vaccination roll-out of his administration. Consequently it also severely damaged the program of his administration to vaccinate Filipinos. His vigorous endorsement of China vaccine only inflamed public resistance to mass vaccination which is the key not only in opening the economy but the return to normalcy.
