Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the government will not be forcing the beneficiaries of the free immunization program to receive only a single brand of COVID-19 vaccine, clarifying that several vaccines will be used depending on the characteristics of population to be inoculated.
"Hindi po tayo magbibigay ng bakuna nang basta-basta ganoon na lang na hindi natin naintindihan po ang indications (We will not give vaccines hastily without considering their indications)," Duque said during the Senate Committe of the Whole's hearing on the government's vaccination plans.
"Kasi bawat bakuna, may certain indications 'yan. Nakalagay doon: 'Oh ito hindi ito pwede beyond 18 years old' -- hindi po namin ipipilit doon (Because each vaccine has certain indications. If it was indicated that it is not allowed for those beyond 18 years old -- we will not force it)," he pointed out.
Duque, co-chair of the Interagency Task Force on Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), issued the clarification when Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri raised during the inquiry the statement issued by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday that people cannot choose the brand that they want administered to them.
"I don't like idea, for example, with all due respect to Sec. Roque who just came out with a news today. My dear friend Secretary Roque said you can't choose what vaccine to take...I think that's not a fair assessment," Zubiri said.
Zubiri cited as an example Sinovac, which he said some doctors doubted due to lack of data on its efficacy on the elderly.
"The doctors here will bear me out: The platform used by Sinovac, for example is the inactivated vaccine. According to studies that I have read, the people have told me, the doctors that I've just talked to from Texas, the problem with the inactivated virus platform is you need a younger person to be able to build up the antibodies to make it effective," he explained.
"In other words, the younger you are, the better the efficacy, the older you are, the weaker the efficacy. Because the older you are, your body does not anymore create as much antibodies," he continued.
"So bakit natin pipilitin for example, ang ating mga tatay at nanay, ang ating mga lolo at lola na mabigyan ng Sinovac na very clearly...ay mukhang malabo sa mga matatanda (So why will we force, for example, our fathers, mothers, grandparents to receive Sinovac when very clearly, are ineffective for older people)," Zubiri pointed out.
Duque assured that the government is taking note of the "diverse portfolio" of the vaccines that would possibly be used for the immunization program.
"Hindi lang po tayo sa isang klaseng bakuna (We will not only stick with a single brand of vaccine) precisely to address these limitations of the individual vaccines. We can complement depending on the sectors or the prioritized group where you would inoculate these different vaccines," he added.
Roque said those who will be vaccinated under the government's immunization program could either accept or decline the vaccine that will be offered to them. He said people cannot afford to be picky since many others supposedly want to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
"Wala pong pilian, wala kasing pilitan (They cannot choose brands because they are not forced to get vaccinated)," he said, adding that members of the IATF have agreed on this.
Roque said that those who will refuse to be injected must sign a waiver renouncing their priority status for free vaccination.
A recent survey of the OCTA Research found that only one in four Metro Manila respondents are willing to be inoculated against COVID-19. Seventy-five percent, on the other hand, either remain undecided (47 percent) or unwilling to get vaccinated (28 percent).
The government plans to roll out to start vaccinations in February, using vaccines from at least seven pharmaceutical companies.