By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
President Duterte’s latest instruction not to publicly disclose what vaccine brand would be administered at inoculation centers is, perhaps, the biggest turn-off of the government’s anti-COVID-19 vaccine rollout. It tops Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr.’s “don’t be choosy” statement in January, which reflects the equally callous disregard for every Filipino’s right to choose.
“Aling Onding,” who tends to a neighborhood laundry shop, would debate the issue with the Palace in a heartbeat, raising this point: “Kung sabong panlaba nga, namimili ka ng gagamitin mo sa damit mo, yun pa kayang bakunang ituturok mo sa katawan mo?” [If for laundry soap you get to choose what to use on your clothes, what more with the vaccine to be injected in your body?] And with that, the people of the Philippines rest their case.
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The government had failed to realize that even before jabs against COVID-19 were developed, most Filipinos were already hesitant to take vaccines in general. No thanks to the venomous Dengvaxia rollout of the previous administration that opened our children to more harm and risk.
The problem is that the Duterte administration politicized the issue even further to hurt the Liberals and flushed public trust in vaccines down the drain.
Now that vaccination against COVID-19 is key to herd immunity and every nation’s hope at being freed from this terrible pandemic, the government has to rebuild people’s confidence in taking very newly-developed vaccines sanctioned only for “emergency use” and whose efficacy and safety are still undergoing global review.
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So if the goal now is to convince the public to get vaccinated, the government is doing a lousy job by keeping them in the dark. Does it expect people who would rather receive the US-made Pfizer shot over the China-made Sinovac to change their minds at the last minute just because they were subjected to long queues in the heat of summer?
I know I wouldn’t. But if that’ i the goal of the “no disclosure of vaccine brand” policy at inoculation centers – heck, that’s cruel! That is especially ruthless treatment of the elderly, the physically challenged, and the sick who would brave the long lines and open themselves to the risk of getting infected in the outdoors.
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Before forcing “choosy citizens” to take the more available brand of Sinovac, perhaps the President should ask himself why it took him weeks to decide which vaccine brand to be injected with. And why he chose Sinopharm, a brand not even approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
By that act alone, Mr. Duterte is a living and shining advocate of choice when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines. Why can’t we?
But it’s not just about asserting one’s human right, really. Thinking Pinoys follow the news about vaccines and are well aware they are not created equal. If there is one thing that has come out good from the government’s Laging Handa briefings is that media can ask about the pros and cons of each vaccine brand, how they fare against one another, and put the information out to the public.
So, Mr. President, the “choosy ones” are those who actually support your vaccination program and accept it as a community responsibility. They happen to be well-informed about their best interests. If you keep them in the dark or tell them they cannot choose, then you’re just losing more people on the side of vaccination. Even an idiot would understand that.
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