vaccination review article

 

vaccination review article

If the Philippines is willing to eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine distribution may come to serve as the engine to carry the process forward. In a newly released article by the Aspen Institute entitled “Vaccine Supply, Distribution and Efficacy: How to Reduce the Coronavirus Crisis by Enhancing Our Vaccine Distribution Capabilities in Developing Countries” the authors, Neville Naaniñez And Richard Menzies, consider how the WHO’s anticipated decision to ship just 60 million doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine by Jan. 11th in view of increased global production will boost much-needed confidence of ordinary people. They are also expected to deliver about 20 million doses of a vaccine developed by Oxford University-AstraZeneca for which positive results from early clinical trials were published Dec. 1, and which AstraZeneca is currently negotiating with regulators in the European Union and Canada, among others. The Covid-19 pandemic is already wreaking havoc across more than 40 countries. Is this low injection rate likely to stem the rapidly rising epidemics?

Last month alone, more than 15 million more Americans were infected, compared to the week of Nov. 16, which increased the death toll to more than 2.3 million, the highest daily death toll in the United States’ history. Even though millions of people have already been vaccinated against this disease, the recent strong outbreaks are turning the already dire picture ominous. Are the 1.2 million inoculations so far sufficient to get us through the winter months of the year?
This is an extremely worrisome prospect. These are just three vaccines currently on the market. Another, from Novavax, is scheduled to begin production in April. There are about 40 other vaccines, which are in various stages of clinical trials, waiting in the wings. These will considerably boost the numbers of injections to the annual tally, estimated at over 400 million, which would be enough to vaccinate over 90 percent of the population.

Sprint tests on elderly people, also known as phase 3 clinical trials, are all over, and the results have been positive. This could speed up the production of their vaccines. The speed-up is also spurred by the host nations’ spare part supplies, which are scarce. They are likely to be decisive factors in escalating prices of their vaccines, which is also an inevitable factor in the decision by the WHO to develop its vaccine distribution strategy. The vaccine providers, such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca, are incentivized to stockpile this precious commodity. For instance, they may choose not to open their stocks in case some nations don’t distribute their vaccines, due to either political or economic reasons. These surplus vaccines could be used again.

That is why caution, coordination, and caution must prevail. In order to stop this severe disease, the availability of vaccine doses is paramount. Vaccines not only produce benefits but provide protection. A solution to the coronavirus could be an innovation of vaccination distribution through pharmaceutical companies and global collaborations.

A vaccine distribution program will not be the province of private or public actors. Private actors could be recognized through the creation of, say, dedicated companies and two-way agreements that would allow a country, company, or community to secure the vaccine supplies. In addition, local government units (LGUs) and the private sector could be invited to participate as local distributors. A decentralized mechanism of vaccine production or distribution within a nationwide system would help to encourage the public health activities of the LGUs, while still safeguarding the nationwide supply of vaccines.

We expect that vaccines will also receive government funding. To begin with, any that are authorized by the global bodies concerned and regulated by the global health agencies will receive high priority. This means governments of emerging economies such as Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia will have to jump through a bureaucratic hurdle. They need to build sectoral competence to ensure that vaccines are designed and assembled in ways that will prevent any negative impacts on health outcomes.

Countries will thus have to step up their vaccine procurement on a global scale. The vaccines should also be provided free of charge to the populations at large. If they are a source of salvation, they should be available for free, especially for the most vulnerable group: people with physical or mental disabilities.

Such programs will be expected to receive the support of many non-governmental entities (NGOs), especially if they ensure that a minimum contribution should be voluntary. As finance minister, the government will dedicate to promoting such initiatives and contribute to eradicating disease at all levels.

We have two major tasks at hand. First, to get vaccines to a greater number of people, so that they get to work sooner. Second, to save as many lives as possible by ensuring that those living in rural and slum areas get the vaccine doses