A party-list group advocating public health is pushing for the administration of non-injectable vaccines against Covid-19 to vastly improve the vaccination rates in the country.
In a statement on Sunday, July 10, Barangay Health Workers (BHW) Party-list Rep. Angelica Natasha Co made this proposal as she believes this would still be “effective” to protect Filipinos from the infectious disease.
She said either the nasal spray or tablets taken under the tongue, commonly known as sublingual, are among the “best options” other than the Covid-19 injection.
“Because absorption into the bloodstream through these ways would be faster than tablets swallowed,” Co noted.
“Di na kailangan ng (We don’t need) syringe. Wala na ni konting aray sanhi ng tusok ng karayom at pila sa (There is no small pain that’s caused by the syringe and queue at the) vax site,” she said.
The representative added the vaccination can be done at the comfort of their homes.
While the BHW Party-list pushes for non-injectable Covid vaccines, Co, however, is resigned to the fact that her proposal is far from being done.
“The problem is, these kinds of new vaccines are still being developed and tested. Available and authorized vaccines now are all injectable intravenously,” she said.
The Philippines has so far fully vaccinated 70.8 million eligible Filipinos, or 64.7 percent of the target population.
However, there was also a slowdown in the number of eligible Filipinos who have received their first and second vaccine boosters.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Philippines has yet to give full approval to the Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines.
“I ask our FDA to expedite the process. They could also ask Moderna and Pfizer to produce vaccines designed against multiple variants and have longer-lasting effectiveness,” Co said.