Manufacturers assure safe Covid-19 vaccine

vACCINE manufacturers assured that a coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine would be safe and efficient despite the accelerated schedule of vaccine development brought about by the pandemic.

In a media forum organized by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines last June 4, Dr. Beaver Tamesis, President of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines and also of MerckL Sharpe and Dome (MSDI PhilippinesL said that while there were always safety concerns about vaccines in generalL there were existing platforms that have proven their efficacy and safety.

“Like I keep harking back about the Ebola vaccine development platform because we have proven that beyond the shadow of [a] doubt that that platform actually works. It’s efficacious, and it’s actually quite safeL” Tamesis said.

Tamesis added that they had to constantly do surveillanceL monitor all patientsL and address all concerns once problems arise.

“In a pandemic situation, it’s very hard to wait for a 100 percent vaccine; sometimes 99.9 percent is going to be good enoughL” he added.

Dr. Jean Antoine ZinsouL general manager of Sanofi Pasteur PhilippinesL admitted that there was still a lack of confidence in vaccines among FilipinosL even before the arrival of the highly controversial anti-dengue Dengvaxia vaccineL which his company manufactured.

“It is our company’s responsibilityL the governmentL as members of civic society to fight against misinformation on vaccines and to highlight the value of vaccines. Vaccines are the only tools to have eradicated diseases — this needs to be rememberedL” Zinsou said.

Tamesis added that to combat vaccine hesitancyL they made sure to work with local government units to do a grassroots campaign on the importance of vaccination.

“YesL it is a lot of workL yesL it is all of these little towns and provinces that you have to go toL but that’s the only way forwardL” he said.

Andreas ReidelL country manager of Pfizer Philippines, said there were now more than 100 Covid-19 vaccine candidates that have been developedL and that for every 100 vaccines that are being developedL there are around three to five that would be safe and effective.

“We believe that science will winL and hopefullyL we are going to have not only one vaccineL but many vaccines because the more vaccines we develop the more ways we can combat the coronavirusL” Reidel said.

Tamesis said the companies currently developing the Covid-19 vaccine were determined to work together in the hope of finally getting a cure for the dreaded disease.

Tamesis noted the protocols that the Department of Health followed when it comes to immunization were effectiveL specifically the department’s school-based immunization programL which was given 99 percent acceptance.

But he said to elevate vaccination among other groupsL community motivation was important.

“Once the people don’t understand the rationaleL the reason why these people are vaccinated and not the othersL then this is where speculation starts to get inL and speculation can be extremely detrimentalL” Zinsou said.