Vaccinations in the Philippines

[rfm010 3,692]

So the covid war wiil be fought in the philippines.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1321374/cavite-to-join-vaccine-trials

The province of Cavite volunteered to participate in the clinical trial of two different new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines, neither of which comes from countries favored by President Rodrigo Duterte in the global race to develop the pandemic cure.

Cavite Gov. Juanito Victor Remulla on Thursday said the vaccines—one developed in the United States and the other in the United Kingdom—would be tested on 10,000 people from Cavite, as part of the Phase 3 of the four-stage clinical research.

Phase 3, according to the World Health Organization, investigates the efficacy and possible adverse effects of an experimental drug on large groups—“from several hundred to several thousand.”

In a message to the Inquirer, Remulla said the vaccines would be given “free” to volunteers from Cavite. But he declined to disclose the brands, pending the formal signing of agreement with the pharmaceutical companies next week.

The local government’s initiative to join the vaccine trials came on the heels of Duterte’s statement that he was willing to become a guinea pig for Russia’s “Sputnik V,” the first to be granted regulatory approval.

In earlier pronouncements, Duterte said he was also relying on vaccines being developed by China.

 

[battleborn 670]

It will be interesting as to when the testing begins.  I had read Sept 2020 and May 2021 so whichever date I will be curious what the results will be.

[Dutch 81]

To put it in a better context, flu shots typically are between 40-60% effective, 90% is amazing. ( https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/vaccineeffect.htm )

Better hope PH will stop waiting for sinovac, and switch to pfizer or whatever safe vaccines will be available soonest.
Especially given the worrying reports about safety related to sinovac.

[+to_dave007 6,061]

2 hours ago, Dutch said:

To put it in a better context, flu shots typically are between 40-60% effective, 90% is amazing. ( https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/vaccineeffect.htm )

Better hope PH will stop waiting for sinovac, and switch to pfizer or whatever safe vaccines will be available soonest.
Especially given the worrying reports about safety related to sinovac.

One of my PERSONAL requirements.. before I take a vaccine.. is that it be "China Free".  If it means I must wait for Pfizer.. then so be it.

[RR3 547]

1 hour ago, to_dave007 said:

One of my PERSONAL requirements.. before I take a vaccine.. is that it be "China Free".  If it means I must wait for Pfizer.. then so be it.

DU30 already decided to take in Russian vaccine. Stand in line plz.

Pfizer is late. China, Russia vaccinating for full. Same 90 per cent there.

Follow the money. Who benefits of this flu hype? Big pharma makes billions. Media supports the hoax. Flues come and flues go. Are you ready for the next?

[BossHog 39,282]

Two excerpts from this Inquirer article today

1.) The Philippines still can’t make reservations for COVID-19 vaccines— not because it lacks funds but because other countries have already made their own reservations, President Rodrigo Duterte said.

2.) “As long as someone would lend us money, no problem about it,” he said, speaking partly in Filipino.

Sure, money's never an issue as long as someone is willing to give you enough of it!

 

[Dutch 81]

54 minutes ago, BossHog said:

Two excerpts from this Inquirer article today

1.) The Philippines still can’t make reservations for COVID-19 vaccines— not because it lacks funds but because other countries have already made their own reservations, President Rodrigo Duterte said.

2.) “As long as someone would lend us money, no problem about it,” he said, speaking partly in Filipino.

Sure, money's never an issue as long as someone is willing to give you enough of it!

 

Screaming for months that you are going to wait for a chinese vaccine, while all other countries are rushing to place orders with the main pharma companies

Now the reservations are filled until well into 2021 and you can't even place an order anymore, who could've seen that coming...

[Soupeod 7,793]

21 hours ago, BossHog said:

Two excerpts from this Inquirer article today

1.) The Philippines still can’t make reservations for COVID-19 vaccines— not because it lacks funds but because other countries have already made their own reservations, President Rodrigo Duterte said.

2.) “As long as someone would lend us money, no problem about it,” he said, speaking partly in Filipino.

Sure, money's never an issue as long as someone is willing to give you enough of it!

 

The PH Red Cross can't buy it because the Gov owes them money... Also a side note - how does this PH Red Cross lack of funds help the Typhoon victims who need help today?

 

[SkyMan 24,464]

The Philippines has been ready for this for years.

[liquido 1,603]

For you members living there in the RP will you be willing to get either the Chinese or Russian vaccine or abstaining completely?

"But mistrust of China, including of its vaccines, remains widespread in the Philippines, according to a opinion survey conducted in July."

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/philippines-targets-deal-25-million-094105056.html

[BossHog 39,282]

The Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines will be available in the Philippines soon enough through non-governmental sources. Not on the black market, lol, but through for-profit medical centers. I'm willing to shell out for me and my immediate family to get either of those.

The Chinese and Russian ones? Nah.

[MarinePride 592]

On 12/14/2020 at 9:20 AM, liquido said:

For you members living there in the RP will you be willing to get either the Chinese or Russian vaccine or abstaining completely?

"But mistrust of China, including of its vaccines, remains widespread in the Philippines, according to a opinion survey conducted in July."

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/philippines-targets-deal-25-million-094105056.html

Why get a vaccine for something that is 99% survivable? It just doesn’t make any sense. Also, other people’s health is not my problem. Lock yourself inside if you’re one of the scared ones I say!

No plans on taking any vaccine.
 

 

[+Dafey 16,046]

27 minutes ago, MarinePride said:

Why get a vaccine for something that is 99% survivable?

I'm in the high risk 1%. I will absolutely take my chances with a tried and true vaccine. It will also be months before I can acquire a vaccine solots of time to find out how dangerous it is.

[liquido 1,603]

Hope someone there makes up there mind?

 

MANILA, Philippines — It was “tragic and to an extent criminal” on the part of health officials to miss an opportunity to get 10 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine by January just because of their slow action, Sen. Grace Poe said yesterday.

“We need to vaccinate at least 60 to 70 percent of our population, which is at the minimum 70 million,” Poe said in an interview.

“And we are already getting the 10 million supposedly by January. But because, again... the DOH (Department of Health) leadership was neither here nor there and could not make a decision, could not give the proper recommendation, we missed it,” she said in Filipino and English.

“They’re saying the rollout – still uncertain – will be sometime mid next year. So that’s how many months from now? People are already exhausted over all of these quarantine requirements and restrictions. The economy is already suffering. How many billions will it cost us to save the health of hundreds and to save our ailing economy?” she lamented.

She said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III’s indecision in securing the initial doses for the Philippines has left the country and its prospect for economic recovery in limbo.

“Our chance to get that was given to Singapore because they could act decisively and we can’t,” she added.

Poe said she looks forward to the convening of the Senate committee of the whole to hear what Duque and other concerned officials have to say on the country’s vaccination program.

She said there was need for the Duterte administration to be transparent about its plan of acquiring vaccines and ensuring their safety and efficacy.

Help from Moderna, Arcturus

In a statement, Philippine ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said Moderna and another American biopharmaceutical firm, Arcturus – aside from Pfizer – are ready to provide four million to 25 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines.

“I am pleased to report that aside from Pfizer, Moderna and Arcturus are ready to supply four to 25 million of their respective vaccines starting Q3 2021, should the Philippine government find their proposals acceptable,” Romualdez said.

“We are hoping our government will consider the promising candidates of Moderna and Arcturus for inclusion in our country’s pool of anti-COVID vaccines,” he said.

A panel of US experts on Thursday voted to recommend emergency approval of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Romualdez’s statement came after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. revealed that the country was supposed to receive 10 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine by January until “somebody dropped the ball.”

Locsin said he and Romualdez facilitated a deal with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to secure Pfizer’s vaccine.

The purchase, Locsin said, was supposed to be funded by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Romualdez, however, said the Philippines’ deal with Pfizer for the procurement is still “in progress.”

He said the January 2021 delivery date of the vaccines was pushed back to June because other nations finalized deals earlier and the Philippines “did not act quick enough on the Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement (CDA)” for the procurement.

“It’s useless for us to blame people, nothing will happen to us. The bottom line is, we did not act quickly which we all have to accept, and just simply move on,” Romualdez said in an interview on TeleRadyo yesterday.

Sought for comment on Romualdez’s statement, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said “defer to Sec. Galvez,” referring to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., the chief implementer of the government’s COVID-19 response.

Locsin said all vaccine manufacturers, not just Pfizer, require that they be held “free and harmless” for any harm caused by their vaccine.

“Anyone says the delay was caused by Pfizer requiring that it be held free and harmless for any harm caused by its vaccine. All vaccine makers demand the same free and harmless clause. I mean f****** all. Also Pfizer never demanded downpayment,” he said on Twitter yesterday.

The country’s top diplomat also backed the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines from different countries to overcome vaccine resistance in the country caused by the Dengvaxia controversy.

“That’s what I proposed with breathtaking logic: a mixed offer of all vaccines, some free, some you pay for, to overcome vaccine resistance thanks to Dengvaxia, thereby reducing Filipino native suspicion of anything not Caucasian – and yet BioNTech was invented by Turkish couple,” Locsin said.— Helen Flores, Christina Mendez

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/12/19/2064858/missed-deal-pfizer-vaccine-tragic-criminal

[+Dafey 16,046]

So, again, the topic is how, where and how much a vaccine may cost in the Philippines. This is an important topic especially for expats living in the Philippines. Let's not stray too much from the topic. For instance...a discussion of the no vax no fly laws may be a topic for another thread.