Vaccination drive faces big challenges

WITH the arrival of the first shipments of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine on Sunday, the government is expected to kick up efforts to achieve its target of inoculating 70 percent of the country’s more than 110 million population.

But formidable challenges lie ahead, not the least of which is the reluctance of many Filipinos to get a jab in the arm, unconvinced that the shot they would be getting is safe or effective.

Logistical problems could also crop up. Health officials have conducted simulation exercises to determine how fast the vaccine could be delivered to inOCULATION CENTERS. DRY RUNS ARE fiNE, BUT unforeseen hitches must be considered during actual deliveries.

First to arrive was the CoronaVac of Chinese manufacturer Sinovac Biotech Ltd., with 600,000 doses donated by the Chinese government.

It was to be followed by 525,600 doses of AZD1222, developed by British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca together with the University of Oxford in England. It will make up the initial

batch of donated vaccines under the global Covax facility.

At least 500,000 Filipinos will be first in line for inoculation. These are the health care workers, elderly, indigents, military, police and other uniformed personnel, and people with co-morbidities.

Only after they are vaccinated will the general population have its turn.

According to global health standards, 70 percent is the recommended immunization target to develop “herd immunity” — the stage in which a population achieves general resistance to infection.

How long will it take for Philippine authorities to inoculate the 70 percent? Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire predicts that if the vaccines arrive on schedule, the country could have herd immunity as early as the end of this year, or possibly by the middle of 2022.

“Now that we have the shortage of vaccines globally, nakikita natin ‘yung challenges ng supplies (we are seeing the challenges in supply). This might push through a little further than the 2022 that we are seeing,” she said during a media forum on February 24.

To reach the target, some facilities may have to open for 24 hours to accommodate health care workers with long hospital shifts, she said.

Vaccinating the rest of the population will depend in large part on the ability of vaccine makers to keep up with rising global demand.

Vergeire said vaccinating the next 30 million Filipinos hinges on the deliveries by the second or third quarter of the year.

The lowest groups in the priority ladder need to register for free shots.

But convincing the people to get jabbed looms as a major obstacle.

Only 19 percent of Filipinos were willing to get vaccinated, according to the latest survey of the OCTA Research Group. More worrisome was that 46 percent were not yet willing, the survey found.

The reluctance appears to be most pronounced to Chinesemade vaccines. Medical frontliners are among the most vocal in resisting to be inoculated with Coronavac.

Last week, frontline staff at the Philippine General Hospital said they will refuse CoronaVac shots.

At the Dr. Jose N Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan City, also known as Tala Hospital, only 180 out of more than a thousand of health workers agreed to a Coronavac shot.

Julie Anne Talimban-Soler, a nurse at the hospital, said on Sunday the vaccine will arrive in the hospital around 5 a.m. on Monday. Vaccinations begin at 10:30 a.m.

“As of now, may 180 po na nagyes sa Sinovac (there are 180 personnel who said yes to Sinovac)… some of them are still waiting for another vaccine,” Talimban-Soler told radio DZMM.

“Ang inaasahan namin nung una ay si Pfizer (We were expecting Pfizer vaccines at first),” she said.

On the other hand, 92 percent of the hospital staff agreed to get vaccinated with the Pfizer-made vaccine, she noted.

Tala Hospital has 1,917 staff eligible for vaccination, but only 1,165 responded to the questionnaire on their willingness to be inoculated.