Safety, efficacy of free vaccines important: Retuya

SO long as the vaccines are safe and effective, the public shouldn’t hesitate to undergo free vaccination by the government to protect themselves from Covid-19, a top City Health Office (CHO) official said Tuesday.

“I’m citing a social media post by Dr. Edsel Salvaña [molecular biologist and director of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine] who said that all Covid-19 vaccines to be used for vaccination will undergo review by the Food and Drugs Administration before their suppliers are issued emergency use authorization,” CHO resident epidemiologist Dr. Teodulfo Joselito Retuya Jr. said.

Retuya said this in response to public reservations specifically from the anti-vaxxers [those opposed to vaccination] on the national government’s imminent procurement of Covid-19 vaccines like those produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech Limited firm.

“In securing the EUA from the FDA, two crucial criteria are required which are safety and efficacy. The price is an aside,” Retuya said.

The national government reportedly secured 25 million doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine with the first 50,000 vaccines to be made available next month. About 30 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine named Covovax produced by the Serum Institute of India in partnership with US pharmaceutical firm Novovax will be available in the third quarter of 2021.

Retuya also cited Salvaña’s post on the difficulties of securing other vaccines due to the large global demand and limited supply which would compel vaccine suppliers to drive up prices.

“The global demand would result in a shortage of vaccines and make it difficult for poor countries to buy them for their citizens,” Retuya said.

Aside from availability and price, Retuya said other factors to consider by the Department of Health (DOH) in the nationwide vaccine rollout are the availability and capacity of storage facilities including those in Cagayan de Oro City.

“Some of the vaccines would lose their efficacy if not properly stored and distributed within their period of effectivity,” Retuya said.

Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno reiterated that the city government will make “the right decision at the right time” once it implements its vaccination program in the city.

“We are not falling behind other local governments in preparing our vaccine rollout program. Everything (the vaccine rollout) will have to be in place,” Moreno said. (Stephen Capillas of the City Information Office)