If you build it, they will come

It has been a mantra for business. A reverse of the needs-based approach: invest now and ask questions later. Put in the effort and you will be rewarded. Reference is to the 1989 Hollywood film Field of Dreams of Kevin Costner and Burt Lancaster with the classic line, “If you build it, he will come.”

This sounds a lot like the philosophies on the infrastructure of our pandemic response. The strategy is to test, trace and treat. Build to these targets. And then they will come.

Testing capacity was the first challenge. Tracing was equally urgent. We’ve had more than a year to erect the edifices. On scale considerations, the Treatment infrastructure take longest and cost the most. Yet, we continue to build.

Fast forward to today. We haven’t tested enough. Certainly, we haven’t traced enough. And the beds aren’t enough.

Comes now, vaccination. Czar Gen. Galvez confirms the impending arrival of bulk orders. We will soon have the quantities to achieve our targeted numbers. And vaccination sites are progressively being set up.

But it appears that, even with the stocks on hand, we haven’t jabbed enough.

They haven’t come. We knew vaccine hesitancy would be a problem. It’s a scenario we see even in developed countries. But it’s disheartening to note the acute numbers of Filipinos who did not return for their second doses.

With vaccination our best chance, short of finding a cure, we can be more vigilant and thoughtful in getting it done. Deaths continue to increase. It’s now averaging a thousand a week. The last daily count Thursday was 199 and plateauing, the same with the positivity rate. The worrisome statistic is that the deaths are from areas where vaccination efforts have been prioritized like NCR+8. The senior citizen population (A2) is lagging behind the A3 with co-morbidities.

More vaccinations give a more hopeful outlook. Gen. Galvez announced that we may consider partial reopening strategies even with only 50 percent are vaccinated – citing the experience of Israel, U.K. etc. where with 30 percent they saw significant decreases.

What matters most. Public trust, effective communication and transparency instill public confidence. These are key ingredients to improving the vaccination campaign. What is essential is to partner with community groups for a more incisive engagement. Religious, ethnic, cultural affinities and considerations of socio-economic status should factor into approaches.

Barangay, city and municipal authorities must step up. Surveys confirm that it is the community health worker that is most trusted on health-related decision making. Malls and movie houses are now part of vaccine venues. Discounts from participating establishments incentivize. In Las Piñas, Deputy Speaker Camille Villar is throwing in a house and lot for her constituents.

Everyone is pitching in. Government alone can’t do the job. It is essential that the business sector and the community all join hands in this whole of society approach to the pandemic. About this, we’ve talked enough.

Real talk. Speaking of communication, we still see crossed currents like Senate President Tito Sotto and Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia weighing in critically on the quarantine requirement for returning residents. Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso is pretty firm on his position against face shields.

There should be better ways to develop public trust. One of its most important dimensions is responsiveness. This is driven by competence in the provision of public service.

The latest DOST announcements tout the establishment of a virology institute and the conduct of mixed vaccine clinical trials as part of its vaccine development and manufacturing road map. Also, the prospect of manufacturing, potentially with Moderna and Novovax, heightens the trust quotient in competence. This is serious levelling up.

Naomi Osaka. Her talent made her one of the top athletes on the elite WTA Tour. She has been World No. 1 (the first Asian ever) and has proved herself against the best in tennis (to the uninitiated, this means Serena Williams). She has won the US Open and Australian Open titles not just once, but twice.

But she is better known off the court for advocacy of social causes. Osaka has not shied away from using her fame and her sport as a platform for protest. With this withdrawal from the French Open triggered by the free for all secondary to her ditching post-match press conferences, Osaka becomes even more of a paragon.

Her earlier activism saw her expressing solidarity with victims of racial injustice. She may have identified, tangentially, but for this French Open’s cause celebre, it was her own truth to which she courageously spoke as she admitted her struggles with depression. From making statements, this time, she became the statement. Just like, in earlier days, with Jackie, with Muhammad. They were their message.

Toxic positivity. The expectation to center only on the positive and mask the pain of failure has its adverse consequences. Isolation may only fuel more stress and heightened emotion. To be heard is one of the best prescriptions for anxiety.

Obvious commercial considerations underline the convention that politics and sports should not mix. As for the purity of sport, at amateur level competitions, you may yet find it. At the professional level, however, the game is the thing.

Nonetheless, Osaka’s was the powerful and unmistakable message that the player is more important than the game.

When age is just a number and the world is not enough. In boxing, “Filipino Flash” (but our Gabriel Elorde was the Flash!) Nonito Donaire, 38, clobbered undefeated WBC bantamweight champion, Frenchman Nordine Oubaali. He is the oldest ever to win the division.

PSA Athlete of the Year, 19-year-old Yuka Saso, is again in the hunt in her 2nd consecutive US Open. After one round, she is just two strokes behind the leader at the fabled Olympic Club in San Francisco.

At Roland Garros, the French Open may have lost Naomi but another Asian, our own Alex Eala, 16, begins her campaign for the Junior Girl’s crown tomorrow as the tournament second seed.