The Philippines is now ready to move forward from the Covid-19 crisis, but the government must now allow private hospitals to procure vaccines on their own as part of the long-term plans in dealing with the virus.
GoNegosyo Founder Joey Concepcion made the call during a recent town hall meeting with the country's medical experts and health executives as he joined them in assessing the way forward for the Philippines after almost three years of the pandemic.
For him, the Philippines now seems to be headed for a transition from Covid as cases remain manageable and hospitalizations are low. But the overall strategy must be toward shifting the responsibility from the government to the people and to the private sector.
"Whatever health initiatives we have done in the past, we should continue," Concepcion added as the government is being urged to allow private hospitals and other healthcare facilities to purchase and administer bivalent vaccines, which is yet to get the Certificate of Product Registration to make them commercially available.
Benjamin Co, Chief Medical Officer of Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings and OCTA Research Fellow, said private hospitals, once allowed, can make vaccines available to those who are willing to pay.
Through this, the government can save up resources and vaccines, he added.
"All the private hospitals, all the other private institutions can actually make it available to the private sector for those who are willing to pay," he said.
Meanwhile, Fr. Nicanor Austriaco of OCTA Research said the country should now focus on sustainable strategies.
"We should start thinking about long-term planning," he said, adding that regular anti-Covid vaccinations may happen every six months or yearly.
"Government policy matters, but individual behavior also matters, maybe even more," added Dr. Nina Gloriani, Chairperson of the Vaccine Expert Panel of the Technical Working Group for Covid-19 Vaccines, noting that the country's health strategies are proven to work, even against the new variants.