The country has to prepare for the possibility of vaccinating citizens against the virus that causes the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) every year through strategic purchasing by government and private sector and transparent and efficient rollout on the ground.
The Makati Business Club (MBC) in a COVID Discussion Paper released yesterday said vaccination is not enough, and stressed the need to invest in the country’s healthcare system while safely reopening the economy.
“Vaccination — probably the most important part of the war against COVID — has momentum, and we believe there are areas for improvement and acceleration. (But) we cannot just vax our way to reopening and recovery,” said Edgar Chua, MBC chairman. “We need physical facilities, tech-enabled systems, financially-viable hospitals, and healthcare workers who are properly paid and provided for. We can’t fight COVID without the hospitals, we can’t run the hospitals without healthcare workers.”
MBC said it supports the call to open vaccination to all Filipinos, while maintaining priority lanes for A1, A2, A3, and A4, among other measures.
It called on the government to accelerate vaccine purchases not only for the unvaccinated population but for boosters first to healthcare workers.
The MBC said vaccine allocation should be strategic and efficient, as well as more transparent to avoid any perception it is politicized.
The group noted the need to allow local government units and the private sector to buy more of their own vaccines to ensure supply.
The group proposes that businesses should mandate employees to be vaccinated; and for the government to consider requiring vaccination for its employees.
“We should assume we will need vaccination every year for the next few years. We need to organize ourselves to make sure we have the vaccines and can service everyone’s needs,” the paper said.
However, MBC acknowledges most of the paper’s recommendations will require additional spending by the government, private sector, and even the public.
“The government should continue to exert efforts to find and allocate funds for Bayanihan 3 and relevant GAA (General Appropriations Act) programs and ensure the funds are spent properly and wisely,” the group said.
The MBC raised the need to accelerate vaccination procurement because the country runs behind Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam when it comes to purchases and vaccination per population.
“The government should continue buying a portfolio of vaccines, which is serving us well amid delivery and efficacy issues. On pricing, we should balance our attempts to buy more for less with the calculation that even high-priced vaccines are less expensive than testing or treating COVID,” the paper said. – Irma Isip
