ILOILO City – “Sorry, we can only use what we have. We cannot choose right now.”
This was Mayor Jerry Treñas’ reaction to the brand agnostic policy recently floated by the Department of Health (DOH) amid the slow rollout of vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) nationwide.
In this proposed policy, local governments will not announce in advance the brand of COVID-19 vaccines to be used in vaccination sites.
“Sa iban lang nga regions ina ang brand agnostic system,” said Treñas.
As far as Iloilo City is concerned, he said, there’s no problem with vaccine brand preference.
“Importante may vaccines lang ‘ta,” he stressed.
Hows’ the vaccine availability situation in the city?
“Ubos na AstraZeneca vaccines, Sinovac na lang gid,” Treñas said.
He himself was inoculated with the China-made vaccine, the mayor said.
He completed his immunization against COVID-19 over the weekend. His first dose was on April 22.
Previously, the DOH suggested implementing the policy but later held back, saying it was open to reviewing it again as there are fears this may violate people’s right to informed consent.
The health department, however, said the brand of vaccines will only be disclosed on-site before vaccination.
This move aims to prevent the influx of people who want to be administered with a particular brand of vaccine.
Treñas said the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines the city received from the DOH are running out. The city is waiting for more allocation.
The vaccines it purchased will arrive in July yet.
Meanwhile, Director Atty. Jonnie Dabuco of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Region 6 said the commission is happy that the DOH recognized the individual’s right to informed consent.
“Waay man sang Commission ginhambal nga totally wrong ang amo sina nga procedure. Ang amon dapat mahatagan sang proper nga information ang mga tawo nga subject sang vaccine before sia injection-an,” said Dabuco.
He stressed that the four elements of the right to health of all individuals, which are availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality, must be present.
For Dabuco, withholding the brand name of the vaccine is not the solution. The most important thing is to educate people about vaccines – that these are good and can offer protection.
“Ang solusyon indi amo sina nga indi pagpabalo, dapat siguro ma-initiate sila sang mga information dissemination (campaigns) para ma-improve ang trust sang tawo sa bisan ano nga brand,” he said.
All people have biases, Dabuco pointed out. “Bisan sa paracetamol lang nga ginatumar ta, may ara ‘ya indi gusto sa amo ni nga brand… although pareho lang man nga paracetamol. Pero kon maintindihan na sang tawo nga palareho man nga maayo, wala gid sang problema,” he further explained.
In a statement, the CHR said in ending the pandemic, respect and promotion of human rights must always be at the center of all government actions.
“Human rights are not to be compromised, but should rather be prioritized. Ending this pandemic, after all, is in pursuit of the people’s right to health and a safe and healthy environment,” it said./PN
