IT’S JARRING to see the President acting like a medical representative of China-made vaccines. It is thus not surprising that not a few were dismayed when the President said Sinovac vaccines were just as good as those made by other countries even as researches show that these were only 50 percent effective and have numerous side effects.
In this time of pandemic, the government should prioritize public interest. The people are also questioning how the government wasted our limited resources when it procured 25 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac Biotech despite the fact that there are cheaper vaccines with higher efficacy rates.
It must also be pointed out that the vaccination program of the government should be participatory where the Filipino people enjoy the right to be heard and to choose which product or brand they would use. The stubborn endorsement of Sinovac amid the doubts expressed by medical experts and the lack of stakeholders’ consultations raises doubts on the government’s vaccine procurement. The Dengvaxia fiasco was a hard lesson that the government should have learned. The government cannot just impose vaccination programs and other health interventions without consulting the target groups, especially when such involve a large portion of the population.
With just barely a month before the supposed arrival of first batch of vaccines against COVID-19, it is imperative that the Department of Health (DOH) boosts its information and communication campaign in order to urgently educate the public about the importance of vaccination and to address the lack of confidence of the public in vaccines as result of the Dengvaxia fiasco.
Aside from the need to ensure that there are enough vaccines particularly for the priority groups, the government should take serious steps in increasing the public awareness about COVID-19 vaccines and help them make informed decision. The DOH should take the lead in the information campaign in partnership with other government agencies as well as private institutions, considering the fact that a new strain of COVID-19 has already entered the country.
