Rappler uncovers issues in slow vaccination drive in provinces

CHEERS TO Rappler for its two-part investigative report that explained why, nearly a year into the PH vaccine program, the provinces have yet to receive enough COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Written by Sofia Tomacruz in collaboration with public health research institution EpiMetrics, the report found that supply and vaccine hesitancy are no longer the main reasons for the slowness of the vaccination drive. While government officials, including President Rodrigo Duterte, have been quick to blame the slow vaccination rate on individuals and their hesitancy, Rappler’s data showed an increase in public acceptance from only 32% in May to 86% in December last year. ( See Reports: Part 1, Part 2)

Tomacruz reviewed how months before public inoculation, red tape and a lack of urgency on the part of the national government prevented the program from getting started. The article also reported that the lack of vaccines limited the number of those inoculated  in the first seven months, but that  the problems shifted later to logistical and accessibility issues.

Tomacruz first established how the national government grouped areas according to “economic risk,” a policy that prioritized highly urbanized and densely populated areas. This resulted in the unequal distribution of vaccines and gaps in vaccination rates around the country.

The report found that “the top three regions – Metro Manila, Davao Region, and the Cordillera Administrative Region— received 2.3 times the number of doses per capita compared to Socsargen, Bicol, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”

Tomacruz also noted how vaccine storage capacities vary across the country, which slowed the “throughput” or rate at which doses are scheduled at a given time. Storage capacity often limited distribution to the regional level and required more work to reach the communities. She noted other limitations, such as lack of personnel, erratic power supplies and transportation woes.

When disaster struck, limited resources and manpower were also diverted in the six regions devastated by Typhoon Odette.

National government seemed unaware of the gaps which affected the effective and efficient conduct of the much touted vaccination program. This report filled a huge gap in the media coverage, which is too often restricted to vaccination issues in Metro Manila and nearby cities. As the government prepares to open inter-island travel and to allow the entry of foreign nationals, the media should keep their eye on the rest of the country where people have yet to receive their first shots. This obligation is profoundly significant as the national government seems unable to understand that the country cannot emerge from the threat of the pandemic until the whole country and not just parts of it, heals.