The COVID-19 pandemic has entered a new phase as far as the Philippines is concerned. No, it is not that we are on the mend yet as the cases for infection continue to hover at the 2,000 daily rate and the total now approaching half-a-million cases nationwide.
But there is some ray of hope as developments in the medical front have come up with the wonderful news that a vaccine has come into the market — by Pfizer/BioNtech which has been approved for use in the UK, USA and Switzerland and the first doses have been given to patients with very minor drawbacks or allergic reactions. There is another one—the Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine which has just been approved by the US FDA and is set to be rolled out in that country by this week. Thus, 2021 beckons to us with the promise that there is a light at the end of this long pandemic tunnel that characterized the year 2020.
Despite all of these talk about why the vaccines from Pfizer got lost in the maze of Philippine bureaucratic red tape and bungling or when will any vaccine be available to our communities and barangays, it is important for the government at all levels: national, provincial, city, town and barangays to be ready for its coming. The fact is that the mere existence of the vaccines does not guarantee that any Filipino can be safe from the ravages of COVID-19. To start with, the vaccine must first reach our ports; delivered to hospitals, clinics and health centers; and then inoculated on the arms of Filipinos in such big enough numbers—about 60 to 70 percent of the population before that ideal “herd immunity” is established for our people such that COVID-19 virus would be relegated to that family of flu viruses that we are able to hold off as another seasonal and controllable infestation.
This is where our transportation system and its efficient operation comes into play. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, for example, needs to be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius or kept in freezing temperature as this RNA-based vaccine needs to keep their fragile components from breaking down until administered between two sets of injections per person in the space of 20 days. This by itself poses a logistical and infrastructure challenge on how the vaccine is delivered to our hospitals or clinics which would require industrial-size freezers to handle the large number of doses for our population. Moderna, the other vaccine that has met approval so far does not have to be frozen but still needs constant refrigeration of between 2 and 8 degrees while being transported from factory to user clinics or medical dispensaries. So even at this early and with the vaccines slated to come only by the 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2021, our transportation companies should be equipped with the cold storage facilities needed at every stage of the journey from the manufacturer to the actual site where the vaccines are to be administered.
This is where advance planning would be best suited so as to avoid any disruptions or backlogs in the transport and distribution of the vaccines to every Filipino province, city or town and that all citizens regardless of economic status or geographic location are able to access the vaccine. In the United States, a virus distribution scheme was developed with the involvement not only of the transportation department but also of the health agencies, homeland security as well as the military. The logistics and systems of transport and logistics flows should now be worked out by all concerned agencies and the working mechanisms should then be communicated to all Filipinos so that we are ready once the vaccine is ready to roll out for general distribution. It is never too early to plan; better than waiting until the 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2021 to set up our vaccination distribution and administration system when the vaccines are already here. The United States, for all its infrastructure and resources, are having glitches in their vaccine distribution right now. If it happened to the “richest country in the world” then such snafus could well happen here too — unless we prepare and get ready in advance.
In another relevant point, a recent online webinar series titled “Manufacturing in the New Normal: Moving Beyond the Disruption” came up with the consensus that one common denominator among all disruptive factors brought about by COVID-19 was transportation as companies struggle to get their workers to and from work. Carlo Rojas, manufacturing industry lead of Cisco Philippines, which sponsored the webinar, said, “Businesses should consider how they’ll manage their supply chain. Data is also very critical in the connection to the assets, to the machines, to the systems.” And that is what our transportation system should be to effectively distribute the vaccines that our people badly need. Mistakes and backlogs in the war against COVID-19 is not just a matter of missing a deadline or delivery date; it means lives—Filipinos dying because our health delivery system or transportation failed to live up to its promise.
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Peachy Vibal – Guioguio is a PR strategist who has lead communications departments in GMA Network, ABS-CBN, and TV5. She enjoys long drives, taking scenic routes, and finds a thrill going wherever she pleases behind a wheel. She has yet to learn how to replace a flat tire.