More than 480,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the Covax Facility arrived in the Philippines Thursday night.
The arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccines was welcomed by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, WHO Philippine representative Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, the United Kindom’s ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce, and AstraZeneca country president Lotis Ramin.
“The long days and nights of waiting are finally over. These vaccines will be of great help to our valiant healthcare workers who have been at the forefront of the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. With every dose that we will administer, we are inching towards a safer recovery from this pandemic. So, let us put our trust in science, in vaccines. Together, we will rise as a nation and heal as one,” Duque said.
“WHO joins partners and the people of the Philippines in welcoming the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines through the Covax Facility. These vaccines coming through COVAX will help protect up to 20 percent of the population in the country during this year, including healthcare workers, other frontline workers and the elderly – groups who are most at risk,” said Dr. Abeyasinghe.
Dr. Abeyasinghe said that the Covid-19 vaccines are proven to protect people from severe disease and death.
“Used together with public health measures currently in place – wearing masks, physical distancing, avoiding large groups, and washing hands frequently – the vaccines will help mitigate the effects of the pandemic by reducing deaths and severe disease. We all welcome the addition of vaccines to the available tools in the country which, when used to scale, will contribute to gradual return of day-to-day activities and economic revival in the country. The delivery of Covid-19 vaccines in the Philippines is a powerful step in that direction,” he said.
Ramin said: “AstraZeneca is proud to be the first vaccine from Covax to arrive in the Philippines. We have been working closely with all key stakeholders to fulfill our commitment to provide broad and equitable access to an effective, well-tolerated, and simple-to-administer vaccine at no profit during the pandemic.”
“We will continue to work with the Philippine national and local governments, private donors, and Covax to pave the way for return to normalcy and economic recovery for all Filipino,” he said.
Meanwhile, Unicef is leading the procurement and delivery of Covid-19 vaccines through Covax Facility to countries, which it called, “the biggest, most sophisticated ground operation in the history of immunization.”
In the Philippines, apart from supporting Covid-19 vaccine introduction and roll out, Unicef continues to support the immunization programs of the government through planning, cold chain and vaccine management, technical know-how and training.
Building on over 70 years of experience in providing simple, effective and accurate information to build public knowledge, awareness and confidence in vaccines, Unicef is working with partners to ensure that local communities are engaged in the overall vaccination process.
“Vaccines are safe and effective. The Covid-19 pandemic has become a child rights crisis which we need to end as fast as possible. The longer the pandemic goes on, the more intense the impact on people, especially on children’s health, rights to education, nutrition, protection and mental health. Covid-19 vaccination should be part of a larger strategy to strengthen health systems for children and families in the Philippines for the long-term,” says UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov.
The Covax Facility leads an unprecedented effort to provide at least 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2021 to low- and middle-income countries. For several months, Covax partners have been supporting governments and partners in readiness efforts, in preparation for this moment.
This includes assisting with the development of national vaccination plans, support for cold chain infrastructure, as well as stockpiling of half a billion syringes and safety boxes for their disposal, masks, gloves and other equipment to ensure that there is enough equipment for health workers to start vaccinating priority groups as soon as possible.
The WHO launched the Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to Covid-19 diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.
Covax is the vaccines pillar of the ACT Accelerator and is led jointly by Gavi, WHO, the CEPI, and UNICEF, which is leading vaccine procurement and delivery operations. WHO is tasked with ensuring fair allocation and prioritization of countries eligible to receive vaccines from the Covax Facility.
The Covax Facility’s 2 billion are intended to protect frontline health care and social workers, as well as high risk and vulnerable people. Covax was set up to address concerns around fairness and making vaccines available to all. To control and end the global pandemic, vaccines must be available to all.
The international partnership established to ensure equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines around the world.
The Philippines is among the first countries in Southeast Asia to receive vaccines from the Covax Facility. Covax is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), working in partnership with Unicef as well as the World Bank, civil society organizations, manufacturers, and others.
WHO, DOH: AstraZeneca is OK
The World Health Organization and the Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday maintained the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is effective, despite a study suggesting the vaccine may be less effective against the B1.351 (South Africa) variant detected in the country.
WHO Representative to the Philippines Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said that the study that has been cited involved only “small sample” or less than 2,000 people.
“We are still looking at this report and analyzing [it],” Dr. Abeyangsinghe said in an online media forum.
Hee said AstraZeneca is effective “even in places where you have the large proportion of cases, which could be attributed to the B1.351 or South Africa variant.”
The AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in the country Thursday night.
The WHO official said there is no evidence of the large scale presence of the South Africa variant in the country.
“As what we reiterate before, we have the window to ensure that we protect as many people as possible so that we reduce the risk of the virus among the population and possibly prevent the importation and speedy control of this variant,” he said.
Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano said there were already four South Africa variant recorded in the city.
Not peer-reviewed
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire echoed Abeyasinghe saying that the sample used was just a small population, mostly of young persons.
“At hindi pa peer reviewed and study. Hindi pa complete ang ebidensiya for us to state na mangyayari ito. Pero syempre pinakikinggan natin ito [This is not yet a peer-reviewed study. The evidence is not yet complete for us to state that this will happen. But we listen to this kind of study],” Vergeire stressed.
As long as there is no “certainty”, the health official said that the rollout of AstraZeneca will continue.
“Sa atin naman, we like to always err on the side of caution pero hindi para sabihin na mawawala ang bisa nito [ On our part, we like to err on the side of caution but not to say that this is not effective],” she stressed.
On Wednesday, OCTA Research Fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco stressed the need to contain the South Africa variant so as not to affect the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccines.
Fr. Austriaco urged the DOH and the local government of Pasay to prevent the spread of South Africa variant for it can reduce the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccines from 70 percent to 10 percent.
“If we do not eliminate the B1.351 variant in the Philippines, then the 17 million doses of AstraZeneca that we have bought will be ineffective,” Fr. Austriaco said.
Image credits: AP/Valentina Petrova