THE Healthcare Professionals Alliance Against Covid-19 (HPAAC) on Friday, February 12, 2021, expressed strong opposition to a Senate bill that aims to give local government units (LGUs) direct access to vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
In a statement, the HPAAC said Senate Bill 2042 will only localize the global vaccine inequity and worsen the public health crisis in the country.
"We aggravate this inequity by doing the same thing locally - distributed geographically according to capacity to pay,” the group said.
"Mortality will continue unabated, perhaps even increase. The health system will be overwhelmed, and the lockdown will persist pushing our country deeper into economic ruin," it warned.
Citing the World Health Organization (WHO) statement, the group said that of the nearly 200 million people who have been vaccinated around the world, 75 percent belong to 10 rich countries.
At least 130 countries have not vaccinated a single person.
If the bill is passed, rich LGUs may be able to procure more vaccines first and poor LGUs would be pushed to the end of the queue.
"Vaccines are not a local resource. Prioritization and distribution requires centralized orchestration. This intensifies when supplies are inadequate, as is the case with requirement is Covid-19 vaccines," the group stressed.
"When LGUs and corporations are allowed to procure on their own, then priorities will be defined by capacity to pay rather than need for the vaccine," it added.
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri had filed SB2042, which aims to expedite the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines by LGUs.
At present, LGUs may procure vaccines through the national government.
Vaccines against Covid-19 are not allowed for commercial use yet since these are still undergoing phase 3 clinical trials. But these may be used if an emergency use authorization (EUA) is issued. (HDT / SunStar Philippines)