"There are more important things that need to be ironed out before we can take it easy."
Recent developments in the clinical trials of vaccines against COVID-19 continue to highlight the strong spirit of the Filipinos. While the government has already laid down its prioritization in the distribution and administration of the vaccine once it becomes available, there are more important things that need to be ironed out before we can take it easy.
The vaccines to be procured by the government are abroad. With this, there remains the problem of ensuring that these are safely transported to the country, without compromising its potency. The Palace has early on assured us that funds will be available for the transport and storage of the COVID-19 vaccines. However, apart from the funds, we need to make sure that proper cold chain equipment and facilities are in place.
Due to the sensitivity of vaccines to temperature, they are transported through a cold chain system. Studies have noted that a crack in the cold chain could render useless 30 percent of the vaccines being transported. At present, the vaccines being developed have varying temperature requirements which will become a problem given our existing available facilities. The Research Institute on Tropical Medicine (RITM) is currently the national storage facility for vaccines, but, as the Department of Health (DOH) said earlier, the RITM is made to store routine vaccines. Our available storage facilities are able to maintain vaccines at -20 degrees Celsius. However, western COVID-19 vaccines require colder temperatures. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires -70 degrees celsius storage to maintain its efficacy. Moderna vaccine only requires -20 degrees Celsius, while the vaccine by AstraZeneca allegedly can be stored in normal fridge temperature.
The DOH has earlier expressed that it doesn’t have the ultra-high cold chain storage facilities. This poses a problem to the procurement of vaccines needing such facility. More than that, the geographical challenge to the movement and distribution of the vaccines still needs to be dealt with.
The government aims to procure at least 50 million doses of vaccines to administer to at least 25 million individuals in order to reach what they call herd immunity. With such a large number, this understandably may take years to be fully implemented, but we need to set up facilities as early as now to prepare for national distribution. From the manufacturer to the airport, to the storage facility, up to the health facility at the barangay level where the vaccine will be administered, the cold chain system should be without any flaw to ensure no wastage of vaccines.
The national government should also provide adequate support to the local government units who will be implementing the vaccination. There should be clear cut guidelines on the priority list, as well as schedule of vaccine administration. Health workers and health professionals in local health facilities which will serve as venues for the vaccination should be trained well and provided with the necessary supplies and equipment.
More importantly, the national government, particularly the Department of Health, should ensure that the vaccine is safe and effective before approving its use. We do not want to put the lives of the people in jeopardy. Many are hoping that the vaccine will be the end of it all. However, let us not hurry at the expense of safety. Many are hesitant to be vaccinated for many reasons. The DOH should conduct an information drive on the vaccine and explain its benefits and possible risks.