Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion on Thursday, Dec. 22, urged the government to allow private hospitals to procure and administer bivalent vaccines for the success of its vaccination efforts.
The former economic adviser of the Duterte administration believes that empowering private hospitals will address the lack of Certificate of Product Registration of the bivalent vaccines and help the Department of Health (DOH) achieve higher vaccine accessibility and coverage, as well as unburden the government and allow it to focus on the vulnerable sectors of society.
“We remain the go ally in its vaccination efforts,” Concepcion said, referring to the Advisory Council of Experts (ACE) that he leads.
“I think we’ve come to a point where people already know how to keep from being infected,” he added. “Our job now is to make sure they have the means to keep protecting themselves from severe illness and death.”
ACE is composed of the country’s foremost authorities on medicine, public health, epidemiology, economics, research and data analytics, and provide expert insight and guidance to the private sector.
Earlier, Concepcion sent recommendations to the DOH from the ACE, chief among them is for the government to allow private hospitals and other healthcare facilities to enter into agreements to procure bivalent vaccines.
In a statement, Concepcion said the vaccines can be sold at cost and administered by healthcare professionals as part of the hospitals’ corporate social responsibility efforts.
The proposal will also allow anyone to receive the vaccines even if they fall outside the priority-queueing system that prioritizes health care workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities.
The council believes that doing so will expand the government’s vaccination efforts because it would reach those who are willing to pay for the bivalent vaccines, which provide a broad protection against the original Covid-19 and a component of the Omicron variant.
Hospitals under the Metro Pacific group have already committed to the plan to procure the vaccines and sell them at cost and with a minimal administration fee.
Dr. Benjamin Co, chief medical officer of Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings, believes that the plan to use private hospitals and clinics makes sense.
“Majority of those willing to get the vaccine are also those willing to pay for it. Patients also feel more comfortable getting vaccinated in the healthcare setting rather than having to do it in a mall or school or wherever else, because the facilities for monitoring post-vaccination problems are better assured in a hospital than in a mall or makeshift vaccination center,” he said.
He added that patients feel more confident that highly trained healthcare professionals will administer the vaccine for them.
Patients would also be assured of the quality of storage and handling of special vaccines like the mRNA vaccines, which require storage at -20 degrees Celsius.
However, he also acknowledged that storage and handling can be a challenge for hospitals with fewer resources.
“Note that the mRNA vaccine will require storage at temperatures at less than minus 20 degrees Celsius, and once removed from storage, will be thawed at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, where the hospital/clinic should maintain this temperature,” Co explained.
“This is one vaccine where proper storage is key to maintaining stability of the contents in order to retain its potency. Without the preservation of proper cold chain and logistical preparation, it would be more wastage of vaccines,” he added.
For Vaccine Expert Panel member Dr. Rontgene Solante, who is also the chairman of Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at San Lazaro Hospital, giving the vaccines to people who want them is one of many strategies to increase coverage, especially amid the issue of vaccine wastage.
“There are pockets of strategy to increase vaccine coverage among the population at-risk, focusing on the benefits of additional protection with bivalent vaccines,” he said.
Solante suggested that the private sector require all employees with comorbidities to get the bivalent vaccines and to incentivize vaccinations among senior citizens.
Another suggestions is for the general population to become aware of the dangers of long Covid.
“Long Covid ... is now considered an important cause of morbidity due to long-term complications such as brain fog, chronic fatigue and mental health, which can affect productivity and quality of life,” he said.
Co and Solante agree that bivalent vaccines can provide significant protection.
“It has better and broader protection against Omicron VOCs (variants of concern) and its subvariants, both in getting the infection and developing severe infection,” Solante said, adding that bivalent boosters add 50 percent efficacy against severe disease from Omicron.