The Puerto Princesa City Health Officer and COVID-19 Vaccination Council Chairman Dr. Ricard Panganiban recognize the obstacles the vaccination drive is facing, and among those are people picking vaccine brands.
“Isa sa mga problema eh mga namimili yung iba pero sana wag na rin ganun kasi lahat naman ng bakuna na andiyan sa atin ngayon eh…may proteksyon ka diyan,” Panganiban said.
He also shared that when they allocated Pfizer-BioNTech on vaccination days, people would flock to the mega vaccination site. Some would even go beyond and sleep outside the building to not miss out on the American brand vaccine.
“Gabi pa lang may natulog na doon. Hindi naman sa loob, doon lang sa labas. Pero yung mga yun nabigyan yun…ang dami-daming bakuna ngayon diyan eh bakit ayaw nila pumunta doon? Kasi alam nila hindi Pfizer,” he shared.
Another occurrence was during their rural vaccination drive where people as many as 3,000 would queue to get Johnson & Johnson’s, Janssen. Yet, the crowd dispersed when they announced that the one jab vaccine is finished, and they will start giving Sinovac to the rest.
“Yung sa isang barangay diba? Eh di pinapila, Janssen kasi eh…mga 2,000 na lang, yung mga nakapila siguro nasa 3,000 libo. ‘oh ano na po eh, ubos na po yung Janssen natin…yung mga nasa ganitong pila po, simula dito ang maibibigay po naming ay ibang bakuna na, SinoVac’… naubos yung pila. Nalusaw yung pila,” Panganiban said.
Another problem in reaching herd immunity is the anti-vaxxers, and those who believe false information regarding the COVID-19 vaccines to a point they think it will turn them into zombies. But the main hurdle they are facing is supply and demand.
PPC-COVAC Chairman expressed that if the 201,000 eligible vaccine recipients are all willing to get inoculated and there is a continuous supply of vaccines, Puerto Princesa would reach herd immunity by the end of the year.
“2 factor lang ‘yan: kung marami tayong bakuna at maraming magpapabakuna… kung makaka 4,000 tayo [ng mga mababakunahan] araw-araw tapos continuous ‘yung dating ng bakuna at may magpapabakuna, granting na yung 200,000 na ‘yun ay magpapabakuna, kaya namin ‘yun before the end of the year.”
“Kaya lang kung sa 2 factor na ‘yun, dapat parehas eh. If either dun sa 2 wala, wala ‘yun. Kung, halimbawa, andiyan ‘yung demand [pero] walang supply, sablay. Andiyan ‘yung supply [pero] walang demand, sablay. Dapat parehas na may supply [at] parehas [na] may demand,” Dr. Panganiban explains.
Meanwhile, the head of the vaccination drive in the city is encouraging people to get inoculated to protect themselves from the virus.
“’Yung COVID[-19] parang ulan. Sa ulan puwede ka magpayong. ‘Pag ikaw ay nag-mask, iwas at naghugas, para kang nagpayong pero mababsa ka pa rin. ‘Pag ikaw ay nagpabakuna, parang nakapayong ka na, nakakapote ka pa. Umulan man ng malakas [at] maaaring mabasa ng konti ‘yung kamay mo o ‘yung paa mo pero ‘yung buong katawan mo hindi mababasa.”