‘Bivalent vaccines needed to reassure investors’

MANILA, Philippines — Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion is stressing the need for the Philippines to secure bivalent COVID vaccines early, in a bid to reassure investors and strengthen the country’s economy.

In a statement yesterday, Concepcion said the Philippines must prepare for bivalent Covid vaccines as the Philippines tries to maintain economic activity amid economic and political volatility around the world.

“Bivalent vaccines will help us protect the vulnerable and those who are essential to keeping our economy going,” he said.

He reiterated that securing the vaccines early will be important if the country is to inspire confidence among investors that no more disruptions will occur because of the virus.

Bivalent Covid-19 vaccines protect against both the original strain of the SARS-CoV2 virus and the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5.

Go Negosyo has pointed out that previous vaccines also offer protection against the Omicron variants, but not as much as the bivalent vaccines.

“The bivalent vaccines have a broader antibody production compared to current vaccines available. With a broader antibody, longer duration of protection is its advantage over current vaccines,” said infectious diseases expert and Vaccine Expert Panel member Rontgene Solante.

Solante added that if the bivalent vaccines are made available, it might encourage people – especially those who have not received booster doses – to get their shots.

Concepcion said that the Philippines needs to prepare early to secure its supply of the vaccines.

“A lot of countries have already placed their orders, and here in the Philippines, there is no FDA approval yet for these vaccines,” he said, referring to the Food and Drug Administration.

The Go Negosyo founder explained that pharmaceutical companies who have bivalent vaccines will likely choose to be indemnified by the government.

“This will need an Emergency Use Authorization, which is possible if the government extends the state of public health emergency up to when the bivalent vaccines will be available to us,” he said.

In the US, bivalent vaccines are recommended for those who have not been boostered, or as a second booster dose to those who are 18 to 50 years old with comorbidities, those 50 years and older, the immunocompromised and health care workers, he added.

Infectious diseases expert and OCTA Research fellow Benjamin Co believes that the government must remain proactive in its vaccination efforts.

“The economy will feel less of the pinch of the pandemic if the government provides,” Co said.

“The government must be up to date and up to speed on what vaccines are available against the common vaccine-preventable diseases. It gives people a fighting chance to deal with the new normal,” Co said. “This is especially for the majority who cannot afford to access the vaccines. “It’s like a war with the pandemic. People are left behind. And that should never happen.”

Moreover, Concepcion believes that the best approach would be to pre-register those who are willing to be vaccinated with the bivalent vaccines.

“Private sector can provide a list of employees who are willing to be vaccinated, and even handle the inoculations. LGUs can also do the same: provide a list of their residents who are willing to be vaccinated,” the former entrepreneurship adviser said.

“This will safeguard against vaccine wastage because we can predict how many people are willing to get vaccinated with the bivalent vaccines,” he added, saying that pre-registering vaccinees will also make it easier to handle inventory.

Concepcion further recommends confining the purchases to only two brands in order to avoid the confusion and logistical challenges that ensued when multiple brands were used for the country’s primary vaccinations against Covid.

However, he said the private sector may not be as willing to spend its own money for the vaccines this time around, unlike previous procurements.

In 2020,the private sector bought SARS-CoV-2 vaccines directly, and shared half with the government through the A Dose of Hope project.

By July this year, however, some P5.1 billion worth of these vaccines expired without ever being administered.

Concepcion stressed that vaccinations will remain voluntary. “We cannot mandate vaccinations, but we have to maintain the wall of immunity that we have built with our previous vaccination programs,” he said.