In a drastic move of eradicating the presence of the ever-so-infamous novel coronavirus in Zamboanga City, Mayor Beng Climaco took initiative and signed a multilateral treaty with UK’s pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca. Over 410,000 doses of the vaccine were secured, eyeing to vaccinate around 205,000 residents of Zamboanga. The city’s vaccination program allocated an amount of ₱100 million to its ₱200 million funds for the purchase of vaccines.
According to the City Health Officer, Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite, vaccinations would commence as soon as the vaccines arrive, which will be around mid-part of the year. As of now, strategies and plans are being discussed among the local government units in the hopes that the dissemination of the vaccines will be fair and smooth while complying with the Department of Health’s guidelines. Dr. Miravite also mentioned that the vaccines’ amounted capacity will reach up to 70% of Zamboanga City’s population, prioritizing the infected health workers and at-risk citizens. However, with the proper utilization of the city’s budget in health supplies, it could possibly even surpass the projected percentage.
The city’s vaccination program, as mentioned, holds a total of ₱200 million at its disposal, solely for the purpose of battling the virus through immunization. With the expensed ₱100 million going to the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, Mayor Beng assures the city that the rest of the funds will be dedicated to obtaining other vaccine brands. There have been reports mentioned that the mayor is scheduled to have upcoming meetings with health companies such as the American multinational company Johnson & Johnson.
This opens up a flurry of questions, such as the potentiality of obtaining other vaccine brands such as Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac, etc. In contrast to AstraZeneca, both Pfizer and Moderna demonstrate a 95% efficacy rate, while Sinovac holds an efficacy rate of 50% to 91%, depending on the clinical trial. AstraZeneca currently has an efficacy rate of roughly around 70%. In terms of price cost, AstraZeneca is deemed as the cheapest, projected to be around $5, while the other brands range from $20 to $30. In terms of safety, none of the companies have reported any major health problems brought about by these vaccines.
With the new COVID-19 strain entering the picture, it is only indispensable that our local government finds any possible means in obtaining a vaccine for our own sense of security — something to grasp in this time of crisis. Furthermore, with the strain starting to appear in different parts of the world, and one particularly close to our national borders, Sabah, Malaysia, the Philippine national government has imposed a travel ban on more than 30 countries for preventive and safety measures.
The idea and possibility of an impeccable vaccine have never been more essential for humanity as it is now, considering how the new variant of COVID-19 is reportedly far more contagious. Although it does not mean that all hope is lost, a sense of urgency is being renewed among us, as all hands should most definitely be on deck.
It is fundamental that we carry a cautious approach to these vaccines. However, putting trust in these pharmaceutical companies is also vital, as they are the key to diminishing the pandemic. All these vaccine brands carry their own fair share of side effects, benefits, and uncertainties surrounding their use. However, these vaccines all serve one purpose — blocking the novel coronavirus from one’s system, and collectively, from the entire global population.
