THE 600,000 doses of vaccine against Covid-19 donated by China have arrived and the government officials celebrated with glee even if some health workers expressed doubts on its efficacy. It's a reason for us to be happy though since after several arguments, the vaccines finally arrived. MalacaƱang spokesperson Harry Roque leaped with joy, so to speak, on the arrival of the vaccines.
Lucky are those who got the first dose of the vaccine. However, being in the frontline in the fight against this virus, they deserve to have the vaccine first. But even with the government officials and doctors showing to the public their dose of Sinovac, there are still those who are not confident of the effect of this vaccine.
We are the last among the Asian countries to get the vaccine. Myanmar, which is now under martial, was even ahead of us in securing those vaccines. Those who do not trust Sinovac will have to wait for the 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said arrived on Monday (March 1). Unlike the arrival of Sinovac, there was no news that a ceremony was held in accepting the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines. Maybe, these are not free.
The donation of 600,000 doses of Sinovac raised some eyebrows on the true intention of the Chinese government. There were suggestions that China should have donated more to accommodate the country's billion population since the Chinese government already have occupied the islands/islets that are part of our country's economic zone in the West Philippine Sea that they now claim to be part of the South China Sea using their own dash line theory that was rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on July 12, 2016. But China just ignored the historic Hague ruling in favor of our country.
Be that as it may, when will the vaccine roll down to the public, particularly to the people living in densely populated metropolitan areas who are prone to the infection of the coronavirus? In Cebu City, Mayor Edgar Labella already laid down the rules on who will receive first the vaccine. Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy implementer of the City's Emergency Operations Center, while he expressed glee on the arrival of the vaccines, had some reservations on how to dispense the vaccines to the public.
The other question that hangs in the balance, does Cebu City have enough vaccines to administer to the public? Or, are these vaccines limited only to the government officials, health workers and the frontliners, which include the policemen, soldiers and barangay tanods? Lastly, let's hope that the vaccines' distribution would not be politicized considering that the May 2022 polls are not that far.
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The resignation of former Cebu City councilor and now MCWD Chairman Joey Daluz from Barug Party did not cause any surprise to his fellow politicians and to his followers even if he left hanging the reason for his leaving the party of Vice Mayor Mike Rama. As they say, there are no permanent friends and party in our brand of politics.
That Daluz wants to revive the Panaghiusa Party, the party of his late mother Inday Nita and the late congressman Tony Cuenco, is a clue that he wants to have his own party and he could run for Congress in the City's South District since Congressman Bebot Abellana's term will end next year. Or, run for vice mayor with Mayor Labella? A valid reason to leave Barug Party. The next question is: would Mayor Labella and others join Daluz? A development worth watching!