The grave threat

MANILA, Philippines - I am writing on behalf of my family and those who want to have adequate choice, if not adequate supply, of medication, for us to protect ourselves and our loved ones against a threat we would want to stop if we could.

Recently, I’ve read about the Philippines receiving a donation pledge of 9 million doses of A(H1N1) vaccine from the World Health Organization (WHO). The article said that the Department of Health run by former Secretary Francisco Duque III “is still exerting its best effort to procure its own P100 million worth of vaccines from leading vaccine companies” aside from the said endowment.

However, three months have passed and there’s still see no sign of the donated vaccine anywhere. The flu season has already started and everyone is a potential target for this deadly mutation.

In a WHO report on January 3, 2010, at least 12,799 deaths from A(H1N1) have been reported worldwide, with more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities reporting laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza A(H1N1). However, these figures remain low because of unreported cases; particularly due to the fact that a single test would cost the equivalent of P5,000 at the minimum. The report identified South Asia, particularly northern India, Nepal and Sri Lanka as the most vulnerable.

To counter this threat, governments of countries across the globe either attempt to develop local vaccine or pre-order and help fund the development of the vaccine by international pharmaceutical companies.

In the US for instance, President Barrack Obama, First Lady Michelle, presidential daughters Malia, 11 and Sasha, 8, and the entire White House Staff were vaccinated when the vaccine became available for Washington, D.C. Prior to this, vaccination drives in public schools and hospitals across the US were conducted, underscoring how safe President Obama considers the A(H1N1) vaccine to be.

In China, the government has been administering 500,000 doses of vaccine on a daily basis, free of charge and available to all. Australia has also embarked on the biggest vaccination program in its history, offering free swine flu vaccine to every person in the country. Widespread A(H1N1) vaccine programs rolled out from coast to coast in Canada last month, where people lined up for shots in clinics in 10 provinces and two territories, as part of the largest immunization campaign in the country. And similar anti-A(H1N1) vaccination measures are being undertaken in over 40 countries across the globe.

In contrast, the Philippine government not only undermines the importance of protection against the virus, but is still wrapped in meters of red tapes at the expense of the health of the populace.

I say so because it came to my knowledge that an A(H1N1) vaccine brand used in other countries - Adimmune - was supposed to be locally distributed here in the country since October 2009 (the same period the rest of the world has started their immunization drives), but the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) has been so “strict” to the sense that until now, the vaccines are yet to be approved.

To stress the point, according to my research, these very same vaccines are the ones used in Taiwan, in which Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou himself submitted to the needle to spearhead their country’s campaign against the said threat. It appears that Adimmune is one of the main brands sought by the WHO for pledge surplus vaccine donations to be distributed to less developed countries. It is the same vaccine donation from the WHO which our government doggedly awaits.

Our informed sources say the BFAD has yet to approve the vaccines. Why should it take the BFAD precious time to get the vaccines approved when more industrialized countries with far more stringent methods and equipment for vaccine safety already gave their go ahead? Or better yet, what would be the safety difference if it comes from WHO when the pending vaccines are of the same brand? Why delay the process when the vaccines are already here on shelf?

I think the real threat here is we seem to be waiting for a doomsday scenario of hospitals bursting at the seams and a staggering body count without the promise of any medication available before the BFAD does its job to protect the 90 million Filipinos and provide a healthy living environment for its citizens.

I would be happier to see our government asking for help from the private sector, medical companies or philanthropists if it would mean that we can have at least a shot, however meager, in protecting ourselves. This pandemic will not choose anyone once it’s here.

I am calling the attention of those in power to at least go down with a legacy of caring for the health of the populace. To those who are aspiring to be in power, I am pleading for them to put health issues in the list of promises they are making.

Prevention is always better than cure.— ARSENIO C. SANGALANG, Department Head — Nutrition and Population Office, Meycauayan City, Bulacan