What Isko Moreno, Vico Sotto And Other Metro Mayors Are Doing To Encourage, Not Force, COVID-19 Vaccination

Metro Manila mayors have been asking healthcare workers to avail of the vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with this tagline that national government and other officials have also been repeatedly saying: the best vaccine is the vaccine that is here.

As the government rolled out its inoculation program against COVID-19 starting Monday, March 1, the mayors were present in the vaccination activities in their respective jurisdictions apparently to boost confidence in the shots.

Mayors Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso of Manila, Vico Sotto of Pasig, Marcelino Teodoro of Marikina, Joy Belmonte of Quezon City, Francis Zamora of San Juan and Rex Gatchalian have expressed willingness to be vaccinated in public so people would trust the inoculation program.

Moreno, Teodoro, Belmonte and Gatchalian said it would be OK for them to get the shots developed by Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech Ltd. that were donated by China. The arrival of the Sinovac jabs on Sunday, Feb. 28, paved the way for the government’s vaccination program to finally begin.

Zamora announced on Monday that he tested positive for COVID-19. He said the test results came out on Sunday, Feb. 28, and he decided to quarantine himself at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in his city even if he is asymptomatic and is in good physical condition.

However, the mayors were told that medical frontliners should be prioritized in the vaccination and that the healthcare workers who refused to get the Sinovac jabs would not be stricken off the priority list once other vaccine brands arrive.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a press briefing on Tuesday that the Interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group or INITAG emphasized that “if we have (vaccines), they should be given first to medical frontliners.”

“And we did not argue," Roque stated.

Domagoso said he was willing to receive the CoronaVac jab as he already got exposed at least seven times to positive cases, luckily without testing positive himself.

“Araw-araw akong nasa risk tulad ng ibang mga mayor. Pero patuloy pa rin tayong susunod sa national policy na unahin ang mga medical frontliner (Everyday I am at risk like the other mayors. But we will continue to abide by the national policy to prioritize the medical frontliners). I will wait for my turn,” Domagoso added.

First elected officials to be vaccinated

Manila Vice Mayor Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan, a medical doctor, and House of Representatives health committee chairperson Rep. Angelina “Helen” Tan became the first elective officials to legally receive the Sinovac shots on the second day of the government’s immunization program.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, in a statement, said: “We encourage eligible individuals to seize the very first opportunity they will be presented with to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Our experts have already studied its safety and we ask you to trust the scientific process.”

Vaccinations began at the Santa Ana Hospital, run by the Manila city government, using the initial batch of 3,000 CoronaVac doses allocated by the national government.

Lacuna-Pangan and her husband, city health officer Dr. Arnold Pangan, were the first and second recipients of the CoronaVac jabs.

The Facebook page of Lacuna-Pangan, a physician and dermatologist by profession, proclaimed her to be  the first elected government official to be legally vaccinated against COVID-19.

Lacuna-Pangan apparently did not feel anything when the vaccine was administered to her.  “Honestly, I did not know that my vaccination was done, so I encourage everyone to protect yourselves. Get vaccinated while it is here and there is a chance, especially our medical frontliners,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Moreno posted on Facebook that 160 healthcare workers were inoculated at the Santa Ana Hospital as of 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday.

Tan, representative of Quezon’s 4th District and also a physician by profession, said she received her first of two doses of CoronaVac vaccine at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City. In an Instagram post, she explained that this was part of the allocation given to her eldest son Kim, also a doctor, for his family members.

“I didn't feel any pain at the injection site,” she said. “Let us all support our government’s effort to end this COVID-19 pandemic by joining the vaccination program.”

In a separate Twitter post, Tan appealed in Filipino: Let us not be afraid to get vaccinated, let us protect each other so we can get past the pandemic together.”

Tan may not be the first legislator to legally receive the vaccine. Ramon Tulfo, President Duterte’s former special envoy to China, earlier said that a senator he did not identify took smuggled shots of the vaccine developed by another Chinese firm, Sinopharm.

 Don’t judge

Dr. Nerissa Sabarre, the Pasig City COVID-19 Referral Facility’s Incident Command team leader, was the first to be inoculated in her city during a symbolic ceremony at the Pasig City General Hospital (PCGH). Sabarre is also the head of the emergency medicine department head of PCGH.

In a press conference, Sabarre said the Sinovac vaccine was “good enough for me” despite its low efficacy rate. “Mas magandang may bakuna kaysa wala (It is better to have a vaccine than none),” she said.

Sotto assured frontliners and other residents that they would not be forced to receive the jab. He sought understanding for unwilling healthcare workers.

“‘Wag din natin i-judge 'yung mga health care workers na ayaw pa o natatakot pa (Let us not judge those health care workers who are not yet willing or are still wary),” Sotto said.

He also expressed belief that “the best vaccine is the vaccine that we are able to use not tomorrow, but right now.”

On Facebook, Sotto disclosed that 167 hospital-based healthcare professionals volunteered to get vaccinated.

“Thank you to the national government for the initial 600 doses...we understand those with hesitations while more information comes in. Vaccination is on a purely voluntary basis and healthcare staff who decline (one) brand will still be the FIRST PRIORITY for the next brand that arrives. #UmaagosAngPagasa #VaccinesWork,” Sotto posted.

Glimmer of hope

At the Pasay City General Hospital, healthcare workers who received the Sinovac shots underscored that while the China-made vaccines are “not perfect,” they could now “see the glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel” in the fight against COVID-19.

Dr. Maylene Agrimano of the hospital’s pediatric infectious diseases said in an interview on Tuesday said it is a good thing to have the vaccines before the first anniversary of the declaration of enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

“Finally, we have the vaccine and the protection. Where are we going without the vaccine? We do not know when the pandemic would end, and there are now mutations. What can we do? At least, we have the vaccine,” Agrimano said.

“It may not be the perfect one, but at least we have the protection. This is the best we have got right now. I am relieved that finally, we have the vaccine,” she added, noting that “80 percent protection is better than having nothing at all.”

Another healthcare worker, nurse Lerie Durana, said she is relieved that the vaccines are already here.

“Personally, I would go for any brand. Sinovac, just like any other vaccines, has the goal to protect people from severe complications. It is not 100 percent, but Sinovac is still 100 percent (effective) against severe cases,” Durana said in a mix of English and FIlipino.

She added that the city hospital is “blessed and lucky” to receive the vaccine and that she feels “overwhelmed” now that the vaccine has arrived.

Durana and Agrimano are only two of the 131 healthcare workers who received the Sinovac shots on Tuesday morning.

Aside from them, Department of the Interior and Local Government Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority-Office of the General Manager chief of staff Michael Salalima and Pasay City Vice Mayor Boyet del Rosario were inoculated.

They all said they received the first doses of the vaccine to build vaccine confidence among the people.

The city hospital received 300 doses of the Sinovac vaccine from the national government.

Dr. John Victor de Gracia, who also received the vaccine, said in an interview: "I hope we can encourage the other [healthcare workers.] Of course, there were doubts, like other hospitals. But, this is not mandatory."

"They have the right not to accept the vaccine, and they have the right to choose their vaccine. But, hopefully, we could get to them and educate them more and influence them," he added.

The hospital has more than 400 healthcare workers, 100 of whom availed of the CoronaVac jabs.

Pasay City Mayor Imelda “Emi” Calixto-Rubiano, who recently recovered from COVID-19, thanked the national government for the jabs as she reminded her constituents not to be complacent and continue adhering to minimum health standards.

She noted in a teleconference that having COVID-19 was no joke.

“Ayoko ko pong maranasan niyo ang naranasan ko at maranasan ng aking pamilya lalo na ‘yung ating mga healthcare frontliners na kailangan din nilang mabakunahan (I don't want you to experience what my family and I experienced, especially the healthcare workers who need to be vaccinated),” the mayor said.

 Backing out

Teodoro, who was present at the vaccination activity at the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center on Tuesday, said many of the healthcare workers backed out after learning that they would be getting Sinovac and not the shots developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE.

The 117,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 525,600 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine were supposed to be delivered in mid-February and on March 1, respectively through the World Health Organization-led COVAX Facility. However, these were delayed because of the belated signing of indemnification agreements and the global supply crunch.

On Sunday, Teodoro said  Metro Manila mayors will respect the decision of healthcare workers of hospitals in their jurisdictions who may refuse to be vaccinated with  China-made vaccines.

Teodoro added the Metro Manila Council would ensure that their right to refuse would be guaranteed “without prejudice to their eligibility to receive the next available vaccines.”

Fauci inspiration

Duque personally administered CoronaVac shots to the first recipients in the Philippine Air Force General Hospital: chief of the Medical Corps Lt. Col. Alekhine Tinio and COVID-19 chief coordinator Maj. Glenn Cariaga.

In a speech, Duque echoed an earlier assertion by Roque quoting Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the United States’ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that “the best vaccine is the one that is available” and “that vaccine is Sinovac.”

Fauci never actually endorsed Sinovac. In a Feb. 25 interview with the “Today” show on NBC, Fauci discouraged Americans from declining the doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which had an overall efficacy rate of 72 percent.

““Whatever the vaccine is, when it gets by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for an EUA (emergency use authorization), it's available to you, get it,” Fauci answered when he was asked about Americans who would rather wait for doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines with efficacy rates above 90 percent. Only these three vaccines were authorized by the US regulator for emergency use.

Time is of the essence

Duque also complained about the criticism against the CoronaVac vaccine and insisted that the Philippines’ FDA and the vaccine expert panel already scrutinized the data made available by Sinovac.

“Ginawa nila ang malalimang pagsusuri ng benefit-risk ratio. Sige na, magpabakuna na tayo sa lalong madaling panahon. Ako pa magbabakuna sa inyo (They did a deep analysis of the benefit-risk ratio. Come on, let us get vaccinated at the soonest time. I will even be the one to administer it),” Duque said.

On Monday, Belmonte said “time is of the essence” as she witnessed the vaccination of frontliners at the Lung Center of the Philippines.

“The best vaccine is the vaccine that is here and now ready for us to use,” Belmonte said, noting that people must now get the vaccine to get the protection against the virus and help the city revive the economy. – With Ralph Edwin Villanueva