Searching for that Filipino vaccine

The question boils down to time. When can we have such a homegrown vaccine ready and available? It is a matter of national interest at this point to have a local vaccine immediately. In the last year of this administration, maybe this can still be done.

VACCINATION of the general populace remains to be the key to normalcy. With the delta variant now on our shores, vaccinating practically the whole country has now become a top priority. No doubt, regardless of what kind of vaccine or from what country the vaccines come from, getting yourself vaccinated is your best defense against the virus.

We are glad that the push for vaccines by the government is in full swing. We can see this effort being promoted by both the national government and the LGUS. The private business community has also been very active in pushing for a vaccinated populace through various means. Recently, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship and businessman Joey Concepcion suggested providing public transport for those vaccinated in an effort to push voluntary vaccinations and achieve at the very least micro herd immunity in Metro Manila and other urban areas. This is a sound idea primarily for two reasons: such vaccine incentives will encourage people to go for the needed jabs; and for the public transport sector reeling from tremendous loss of revenues due to non-operations, they will be given the needed revenue to

help them cope.

There are also other schemes done by the private sector to encourage vaccination in order to prevent an epidemic of the non-vaccinated. We have mobile vaccinations going around the communities to bring the vaccine to people’s doorsteps. We are already witnessing some of the restaurants and establishments providing for vaccine discounts on their services. In some cases, unvaccinated individuals are even barred or severely restricted from going inside certain premises.

The unfortunate part is that we apparently do not have enough vaccines to go by. Not that we don’t have the money to purchase the jab. And I am not just talking about available government funds. Well-meaning private associations are willing to spend not just for their vaccines but also for vaccines that can be given away to our less fortunate brothers. But we just do not have enough supply for the simple reason that we are dependent on other countries for this valuable product.

With the recent global surge of infections due to the new variant and with findings of the need to add additional dose (booster) to the existing one or two doses of most vaccines, expect that such products will be scarcer than ever.

It should then be on our priority list to have our own vaccine program, with vaccines that are locally developed and manufactured. We cannot say that vaccine development is reserved for the first world countries as our neighbors, Indonesia and Vietnam, are developing their own. Recently, the President announced funding support for any local vaccine development. I am sure that we have enough scientific and medical talents that are either here or overseas that will be more than willing to contribute to such efforts. We know of Mit-educated Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, a Filipino Dominican priest, who is pursuing the development of a local vaccine. I myself am helping a group of Filipino scientists, together with their counterparts from Israel, who are also looking into formulating a vaccine-like supplement that can be made available and accessible to all Filipinos. There are also other Filipino teams looking into this, with some being egged on by local pharmaceutical firms.

Meanwhile, the DOST is pursuing efforts to determine the viability of virgin coconut oil against the virus. If this is proven effective, then we will have the local solution we need with more than enough raw materials to produce and even export such products.

The question boils down to time. When can we have such a homegrown vaccine ready and available? It is a matter of national interest at this point to have a local vaccine immediately. In the last year of this administration, maybe this can still be done. If the development of a local vaccine succeeds, this will define the long lasting legacy of this administration, the success of its “Build, Build, Build ” program notwithstanding. Hopefully, it will be this Filipino vaccine that can give us a fighting chance to save our populace and our economy. Only then can we cast a hopeful glimpse into our country’s future.