The Philippines has reported more than 2,000 cases daily for the past five days and its positivity rate – the number of people infected as a percentage of those tested – recently breached 7 per cent for the first time since October, local media has reported.

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While the roll-out of the vaccines promises some relief, experts warn the government must overcome public scepticism over the Chinese developed vaccine if it is to be successful.

Sentiments towards the vaccination drive changed dramatically when the government announced on Friday that workers at the hospital would be given the Sinovac vaccine rather than the ones developed by either Pfizer or AstraZeneca.

The Philippine General Hospital’s Physicians Association said on Saturday that Sinovac had “a sweeping disapproval rate of 95 per cent” among hospital staff, while an earlier survey had found 94 per cent were willing to take either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca jab. The association objected to what it said was a lack of verifiable, scientific data around the vaccine made by Sinovac, which is yet to release the results of its third phase trials.

Adding to the scepticism was confusion over the fate of 525,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that presidential spokesman Harry Roque had on Saturday claimed would arrive by March 1. Hours later, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said these would be delayed as the World Health Organization had informed him of supply problems.

CONFIDENCE BOOSTER

To boost confidence in the vaccine, Food and Drug Agency director Eric Domingo and infectious disease specialist Dr Maurice Edsel Salvana also received the jab on Monday.

It was Domingo who had issued the emergency use authorisation for Sinovac, though he did so with a caveat – that it could be used only for healthy individuals aged 18 to 59 years old and not at all for medical frontliners, regardless of age.

Despite this caveat, frontline workers were among the 128 staff at the Philippine General Hospital who also received the jabs on Monday.

Domingo, who was second to be jabbed, said afterwards that he had not felt anything, crediting this to a small needle and dosage and a good nurse.

The third to receive the jab was Salvana, a molecular biologist and an adviser to the country’s Covid Task Force. He said that, having studied all the data and confidential papers, he had concluded Sinovac was safe and would prevent 100 per cent of severe infections – and 78 per cent of moderate ones.

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“We are turning Covid-19 from a deadly disease into the common cold. We will remove the fangs of Covid,” Salvana said. Hours later, he tweeted: “I’m alive! Arm hurts but that’s just my immune cells getting ready to churn out anti-Covid antibodies.”

Salvana told the South China Morning Post he felt “pain in the left arm” and was “a little tired but so far so good. Ecstatically happy to have got a shot.”

Hours after the vaccination started, Philippine General Hospital announced it would give part of its vaccine allocation to neighbouring Manila hospitals. The hospital, which has around 4,000 personnel, had been given 1,200 doses.

In all, at least 263 health care workers in six state hospitals were vaccinated on Monday. Fifteen showed some adverse reactions, ranging from sudden faintness and dizziness to headache.

One medical frontliner told the South China Morning Post he would be hesitant to receive the Sinovac jab: “If I get vaccinated and it’s [not fully] effective, how is that reassuring when I want to spend time with family?”

MIXED MESSAGES

Health Secretary Francisco Duque said he could not have the jab because he was too old, despite previously having said he would. He is 64.

The 600,000 doses were delivered to the country by a Chinese military plane. China’s envoy to Manila Huang Xilian said 500,000 of the doses were donated by the Chinese government to the Philippine government and the other 100,000 were meant as a gift from the Chinese military to the Philippine military.

Xilian said the delivery of the vaccines represented a joining of hands between the two governments in fighting the pandemic and that this “not only shows the solidarity, friendship and partnership between our two countries and peoples, but also signifies the intent of both militaries in jointly fighting against Covid-19 and deepening our defence cooperation.”

While some health experts fear scepticism could slow the roll out of the vaccine among the general public, the military side of things is expected to go more smoothly.

The Armed Forces spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo said last week that, “To get inoculated or not is not an option for the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, it is a duty.”

Or, as one senior military officer put it, “I will follow orders.”