‘Someone dropped the ball’

The above was a direct quote from Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. I have told my friend Ted that he should be more discriminate with his tweeting and he has politely ignored my criticism. In this instance, he was correct. That was the only way he could raise the issue without offending anyone directly.

In a recent US-Philippines Society virtual meeting, our Ambassador to Washington Babe Romualdez confirmed that he was in dialogue with Pfizer management and that they were able to secure millions of COVID-19 vaccine dosages to arrive in the country by January 2021. But plans were foiled because “someone dropped the ball”. Babe refused to comment on who. But he said, “it pushed back to a later date any delivery, possibly because we did not act quick enough on the Confidential Disclosure Agreement…Other countries got ahead of us like Singapore” He further assured that the vaccines will arrive at a later date possibly in June. He also confirmed ongoing negotiations with Moderna.

Later at the Senate Committee on Appointments, Sen. Panfilo Lacson bluntly stated: “You can figure out who is the captain ball I am referring to, who keeps dropping the ball, but manages to stay in the game because the coach refuses to replace him”.

Chinese Vaccine

Many have stated that the Chinese seem to be more forthcoming by using vaccine diplomacy to earn marks with mostly developing countries. Ambassador to China Chito Sta. Romana denied that there was any attempt by China to put pressure on the Philippines in relation to the South China Sea dispute in exchange for securing access to the vaccines developed by Chinese companies.

Personally, I believe that China has made significant progress developing its scientific and technological prowess, particularly in digital technology, and I think we should encourage our utilization of these technologies – subject of course to the usual standards and national security safeguards on these products and services regardless of source. That should apply to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac. As one former health secretary informed, “We would hope that the Chinese vaccine makers will do the responsible thing and present their data to the scientific community in the same way US and European companies have been doing and will continue to do”.  Absent that, I would withhold my judgement about the safety and efficacy of that vaccine and suggest that the government require and review their data. By the way, the Chinese vaccine is apparently among the highest priced in the market.

Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF)

IATF Secretary Carlito Galvez, our vaccine czar, hosted a summit on vaccine logistics last Wednesday, Dec. 16. He presented the Philippine COVID-19 National Vaccine Roadmap and discussed the creation of the “Vaccine War Room” which will define and own the overall COVID-19 vaccination plan, including portfolio choices, prioritization principles, and timelines. He also reiterated the need for LGUs to prepare in coordination with the DILG, DOH, NTF and the private sector. The Zuellig Family Foundation is currently supporting LGUs in their preparations for the COVID vaccine program implementation and risk communication.

I was informed that about 500 who participated: private sector organizations such as the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, Ayala Health, UniLab, Zuellig Pharma, as well as numerous government agencies led by the National Task Force for COVID-19.  It should be noted that former DOH secretaries Esperanza Cabral and Manolet Dayrit were also present. Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje outlined the vaccine implementation design that includes fixed point vaccination strategy (vaccination and composite teams) and house-to-house social mobilization strategy (barangay health workers as social mobilizers and navigators). The Boston Consulting Group provided updates on global vaccine developments and discussed current practices and challenges in the United States and the United Kingdom. A representative from the T3 Coalition discussed the need for risk communication because of the hesitancy of many to take the vaccine caused by the Dengvaxia scare.

There was an afternoon breakout session split into three groups to brainstorm needed preparations for a February 2021 roll-out.  (FDA director general Eric Domingo however said that as of Dec. 16, they have not received any application for Emergency Use Authorization.) The Allocation and Administration Site Mobilization Group identified key milestones: (1) Allocation plan and strategy identified. (2) Master list of priority patients created. (3) Staffing requirements identified. (4) Facility and equipment prepared. (5) Step by step administration guidelines provided. (6) Processes communicated to LGUs and other partners. (7) Staff trainings conducted. The Distribution and Supplies Group recommended the following: (1) For DOH to finalize the terms of reference for contracting storage and fleet requirements, especially for cold storage of vaccines. (2) Draft logistics guidelines on distribution of vaccines and ancillaries, waste management, and monitoring. (3) Assess cold chain facilities and dry storage capacity. (4) Conduct a dry-run process with different vaccines and cities, and monitor against readiness assessment. The Communications and Public Uptake Group suggested to create a comprehensive communication plan targeting different audiences leveraging research to determine best way to communicate key messages.

In my opinion, Secretary Galvez and the task force are performing their responsibility dealing seamlessly with all sectors of Philippine society with a sense of urgency, a role model of how government should work. Ambassador Romualdez, working with the US State Department and World Bank, exemplifies how vaccine diplomacy should be done. Hopefully, our ambassadors should act accordingly if their host country is developing a COVID-19 vaccine. Lastly, Joey Concepcion and the private sector have admirably taken the initiative to secure Astra Zeneca vaccines funded by the business sector.