Transparency is crucial in the government’s procurement of vaccines to contain Covid-19.
The government must inform and update the public regularly about the planned total number of doses to be acquired, the current contracted quantity, the plans for obtaining the remaining balance and the period of the expected deliveries.
Our citizens need to know how soon they can get over the plague at present and plan their lives accordingly.
Similarly, Philippine businesses need this information to properly estimate the demand for their products and plan their outputs based on what they are told about the procurement of the vaccines.
Currently, Pfizer is delivering its approved vaccine to a few countries where inoculation has started.
Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Moderna will do the same soon.
Researchers are said to be currently testing 61 vaccines in clinical trials on humans, of which 17 have reached the final stages of testing.
Based on recent media reports, the Philippines has placed an order of 2.6 million doses of vaccine from AstraZeneca that will be funded by Philippine private business and are expected to be received for inoculation between May and June 2021. It also has been reported that there are current talks for procurement of one million doses, but no other details were disclosed.
The government must explain to the people why the Philippines is not getting additional share in these available vaccines.
Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr., point person for vaccine procurement, was reported to have expressed that the Philippines need to inoculate 60 percent to 70 percent of its citizens to reach the point of herd immunity.
Punongbayan explained that to get the upper level of that range, the country needs about 76 million vials of the vaccine for the first dose alone as most inoculations require two doses to be effective.
The first dose primes the body’s immunity system, while the second one delivers the effective punch.
To provide a safe margin, the Philippines may then need a minimum number of about 150 million doses of vaccines.
That is indeed a long way to go, but it is incumbent upon the government to inform Filipinos about its plans to procure that number of doses, or of whatever total quantity it believes is necessary, and the expected dates of delivery.
Galvez noted that as a practical matter, to procure that many doses will take several years.
For this reason, the government must also inform us about what to expect about the movement of people in terms of plans for any continued restriction in public transportation.
For certain, Philippine business may not be able to recover fully until herd immunity is attained.
The government, therefore, needs to plan for any additional assistance to the unemployed, if not to the affected businesses themselves.
A major problem in the procurement of enough doses of vaccine is to find adequate funding.
To meet the cost of the vaccines, Galvez suggested that the government consider seriously increasing the rate of corporate income tax and the upper bracket rates of personal income tax for the next two or three years.
Such temporary additional income tax to be levied to those who can afford it is reasonable under the circumstances.
It also has the effect of an economic equalizer as the poor will not bear any part of the cost of the very much needed vaccine.
Benjamin R. Punongbayan
Founder and Chairman
Buklod National Party
