"After welcoming the vaccine (amidst popular skepticism)"
It seems that after several months of promises and politickings, the Philippines under Rodrigo Duterte has got its first batch of vaccines against COVID19.
These first batch of vaccines arrived from China a day ago, with Duterte himself personally witnessed the arrival of the initial 600,000 doses of CoronaVac donated by China and inspected its vials during its ceremonial turnover. And this followed by a kick off last Monday morning at various hospitals in an effort to boost public confidence in vaccination. Shots were being administered such as those in the Philippine General Hospital and Veterans Memorial Medical Centre to some frontline health workers, to those of police officers and higher officials, especially vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Benhur Abalos, and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
But prior to the arrival of the vaccines and the shots administered which includes some health workers, The Food and Drug Administration cleared CoronaVac as "for emergency use", except for frontliners, citing its efficacy rate of 50.4%.
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Obviously, this seems to be a PR ploy for the order especially amidst popular skepticism over Sinovac's CoronaVac. For as most Filipinos prefer western-made Pfizer and AstraZeneca and at the same time dismissing the low efficacy of China-based Sinovac, if not the obvious politickings and the past administration's vaccination scare, this first day of the vaccination campaign remains riddled with question, if not outright criticism especially when Duterte and his ilk all "from the bottom of their hearts" bid thanks to Xi Jinping while keeping mum in the contested West Philippine Sea.
"What a cuck move" said one commentator regarding this matter. For as Duterte required licking the shoes of the Chinese compradore all for a pittance in a form of that Sinovac-manufactured vaccine. It doesn’t matter whether the vaccine’s efficacy as lower than the others- for the important is, the Duterte administration brags to everyone that he got those all for free amidst popular skepticism, if not criticism.
Perhaps, in recognising their actions even for “the sake of having", then one would say “okay, fine” that the government got the[se vaccines from China. However, others, especially those who remained skeptical about Sinovac's efficacy rather wait for vaccines from those from US, UK, or even Russia. It is not suprising not because of the Filipino's distrust of "red China" over the disputed territory, or Xi Jinping's support over Duterte, or the entire vaccine program in general after the Dengvaxia issue of the past administration.
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But for the long term, the question is: how about a nation manufacturing its own vaccines? Need not to explain further but this is more than a promotion of health, but of science. For decades after the last production of vaccines and sera in the Philippines during the mid-1990s the country seemingly at the mercy of those abroad in having vaccines meant to gain immunity amidst existing and rising biological issues be it Tuberculosis to those of COVID19.
Very few would even remember the contributions brought by the Biologicals Production Service in Alabang, or Abelardo Aguilar and his Ilosone, but as far as a concerned person, in recalling these that supposed to respond in this call of times, ask: "until when a country will just depend when in fact it can?" Wouldn't be surprised if this also dismissed citing its expensiveness as opposed to cheap imports from abroad if not donations; or the typical view that "no government should interfere in someone else's business" (i.e. manufacturing), but, in this time when most focus on its own survival (Cuba created its own, even Vietnam, or India), then why not the Philippines? Will just wait for a foreign-owned manufacturer to sell? Or create its own just like in the past?
And hopefully this is no pseudo-pharmaceutical joke like what Fabunan did, or a political placebo as Duterte expressed.