Solante urges govt to allocate higher vaccination budget for senior citizens

The national government should allocate a higher budget to provide free vaccination not just to indigent senior citizens but the entire elderly population in the country, an infectious diseases expert said Tuesday. 

Dr. Rontgene Solante, who is also president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), lamented that the high cost of vaccines is a contributing factor to vaccine hesitancy, particularly among the elderly group.

“Napaka-importante sa mga policymakers that they have to allocate a higher budget, siguro we should be looking at that, na hindi lang indigent population, lahat ng elderly population sana mabibigyan ng bakuna. At hindi lang not limited dapat sa influenza or sa pneumococcal. There are other vaccines that we need to give to the elderly population,” he said in a health forum.

(It’s very important for policymakers to allocate a higher budget for vaccination, maybe we should be looking at that. I hope it’s not only the indigent elderly population, but the entire elderly population that will be given the vaccines. And it should not be limited to influenza or pneumococcal as there are other vaccines that we need to give to the elderly population.)

Republic Act No. 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 states that the Department of Health (DOH) is tasked to administer free vaccination against the influenza virus and pneumococcal disease for indigent senior citizen patients.

Solante said that there are also limited vaccines available in the country and the government lacks in its efforts to promote vaccination.

“Kung titignan natin ‘yung COVID-19 vaccine, libre ‘yun because of a pandemic. Pero ‘pag pneumonia, flu, mga bagong bakuna ngayon [like] RSV, shingles, walang extensive na programa ang government on that except for 60 years old above na libre ang flu at pneumococcal,” he added.

(The COVID-19 vaccine was free because of the pandemic. But the government has no extensive vaccination program for other diseases such as pneumonia, flu, RSV, and shingles, except for flu and pneumococcal that is free for 60 years old above.)

The health expert underscored the importance of vaccination, saying that modern vaccines are very safe and highly effective in protecting people against severe infections.

Dr. Dessi Roman, another infectious disease specialist, said that people should also consider getting vaccines as an investment. He explained that P1,000 worth of flu vaccine, for example, would not just protect individuals from mild respiratory infections, but from other non-respiratory illness complications coming from flu as well.

“In the meantime na walang public health funding to some of our vaccinations, maybe mahalaga ‘yung mindset natin sa mga elderly individuals and those who are taking care of the elderly na ang bakuna ay hindi gastos lamang. It’s an investment for yourself and for your loved ones,” Roman said.

(While there is no public health funding for some of our vaccinations yet, it’s important for the elderly individuals and those who are taking care of the elderly to have a mindset that getting vaccines is not just merely an expense. It’s an investment for yourself and for your loved ones.)

Meanwhile, pediatrician Dr. Lulu Bravo said the Philippine government should do something about the high cases of dengue and measles, which are both vaccine-preventable diseases, or else it may even affect the country’s tourism.

“If the Philippines does not do something and does not intervene, our country will be full of measles and polio and no one will come even if the tourism [department] (launches a big campaign to promote) tourism. No one will come to the Philippines if you have a lot of dengue, measles, polio, and all the influenza (cases) that we have,” she warned.

In August last year, the DOH announced that it is targeting to completely immunize 95% of Filipino children against vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, measles, and rubella.

Health Secretary Dr. Ted Herbosa, citing data from the National Immunization Coverage 2022, said that the Philippines was among the top five countries with the most number of zero-dose children globally and one of the greatest contributors to the number of zero-dose children in East Asia and the Pacific Region.—RF, GMA Integrated News