The acceptance of vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Astra-Zeneca/Oxford University in various countries is making headlines around the world. People are now asking when, rather than if, a vaccine will become available so that the pandemic, badly affecting all of us, can be stopped.
Unfortunately, the situation in the Philippines is confusing—to put it mildly. Let’s look at the headlines in local newspapers on 5 January 2021:
98,000 Chinese in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) had clandestine vaccination
More local governments inclined to purchase vaccines/Makati, other LGUs allot funding for Covid vaccines
Ayala Group orders 450,000 doses
Compulsory employee vaccination
Duterte tells PSG to “shut up” on use of smuggled Covid-19 vaccines during probe
Government units—national and local and the private sector independently from each other got to make arrangements to obtain vaccines. Will there be any order in organizing the fair acquisition, storage and distribution to front liners, the aged, the very young, etc. Are all capacities by the government and private sector to do that, inventoried and assigned to what we need for a fast and orderly distribution? Given the problems in other countries regarding distribution issues, it has to be feared that this will not be easy.
Looking at the example for the Ayala Group that intends to order 450,000 vaccines from AstraZeneca, donate 50 percent of the vaccines to the government and use the other 50 percent for public use. Ayala will also be helping with the distribution, which is going to be an essential component in making sure that the vaccines can get to the public.
Given this situation and being encouraged by the House measure to let private firms procure vaccines, other large companies may follow the idea of the Ayala Group and bring in vaccines and use the example of the POGOs to vaccinate their employees openly (not clandestine) so that production and services can be executed without health risks.
Trusting that the local FDA will get its act together fast in approving the vaccines mentioned above, given the fact that other FDAs around the world have approved them already, the private sector should join hands in the acquisition, the import, the storage and the distribution of the vaccines.
While considering cooperation in the acquisition like a number of companies did already with the involvement of Jose “Joey” Concepcion III, we should also agree on “vaccination tracking”—first and second shot. It will be essential that all people successfully vaccinated will be provided with a “vaccination certificate” like the driver’s license we carry. It will help us in our process to hire people, open the economy, and—at the same time—track the health performance of the people who were successfully vaccinated.
The vaccine is likely to have a high “street value,” making supplies by government and the private sector attractive targets for “diversion,” unless adequate safeguards are built into supply chains. Intense surveillance and oversight mechanisms will be needed. To take it one step further, government and the private sector must ensure that falsified and substandard vaccines do not get into circulation.
It is trusted that country-level frameworks will be developed to ensure that distribution is equitable and transparent. There is a need for civil society to engage with the national and local governments in the planning and monitoring of distribution. This must range from the technologically complex, using RFID tracking of vaccines, to awareness campaigns on reporting corruption. Transparency in the vaccination program by government and the private sector will also create public trust and address existing vaccine hesitancy.
With so much resting on the successful deployment of a vaccine, one thing is clear: It cannot go wrong! If we can get this right, a corruption-free Covid-19 distribution will not only tackle the pandemic, it will also prove that “vaccinating against corruption can be successful!”
Feedback is welcome; please e-mail me at hjschumacher59@gmail.com