IN THE choice for COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines, how safe and how effective for how long should be the crucial questions to be answered.
It is important, too, to ensure that no corruption taints the procurement process so that the public will welcome the government’s vaccination program.
In the weeks ahead, more COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be approved. Can we confidently say that finally, our country is catching up?
We hope the processes could be sped up – without skirting the necessary procedures to protect public funds and ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccines – so we could have mass inoculations starting with the healthcare frontliners and the country’s workforce. The sooner Filipinos are vaccinated, the sooner we can get our economy moving faster.
The latest Food and Drug Administration announcements of imminent approval of Pfizer and other vaccines, in addition to the emergency use authorization for the Janssen Pharmaceutical/Johnson & Johnson vaccine, plus the approval of the 2021 General Appropriations Act are major reasons for Filipinos to be hopeful about recovery from the pandemic and its economic impact.
In particular, approval of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer vaccines is good for the Philippines, partly because Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer have strong brand goodwill among Filipinos because of their wide range of consumer products.
The symbolism and goodwill the Janssen/J&J and Pfizer already have bodes well for wide acceptance of their COVID-19 vaccine and for the vaccines already in the approval pipeline.
Acceptance of the all the vaccines will be enhanced if the FDA will be completely transparent about all its details and how it will be administered to the Filipino people.
Given how large our country’s population is, we must accept the reality that we need to have several vaccines, not just one or a few. The vaccination authorities just have to be prudent and anticipatory, not reactive.
