Experts ask gov’t to expand vaccine program for adults, especially seniors

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

After her entire household caught the COVID-19 virus in 2021, Janeth Villablanca of Pasay City was more than eager to get inoculated with the first batch of vaccines to protect her from the disease.

And she did not stop there. She also availed herself of influenza and pneumonia vaccines after learning from barangay health personnel and Department of Health (DOH) TV advertisements that these were being offered free of charge.

“It’s once a year for flu shots, and every five years for a pneumonia shot. I just got the latest ones last year,” the 62-year-old Villablanca told the Inquirer.

She shared her reason for being immunized: “When I became a senior citizen, I easily got sick. My blood pressure shot up, and fever, colds, and cough all became common. It’s too expensive to buy medicines and get hospitalized. By getting vaccinated, I can prevent getting more severe illnesses. I am unemployed. I don’t want to become an additional burden to my family.”

Sadly, many of the country’s senior citizens are not as open to immunization as Villablanca.

According to infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante, the vaccination coverage among the elderly has been low due to vaccine hesitancy and accessibility problems.

Based on data, only 36.3 percent of adults aged 60 and older are vaccinated against influenza—still lower than the World Health Organization’s target of 75 percent—despite it being the fifth leading cause of morbidity. On the other hand, only 52.9 percent of seniors have gotten pneumonia shots although it is the fifth leading cause of deaths nationwide.

“Vaccines are not just for children,” said Solante, the president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), in a press conference in Manila on Tuesday. “The global burden of vaccine-preventable diseases remains high in adults, contributing to substantial morbidity, mortality and utilization of health-care resources and costs.”

The PCP, the umbrella organization of internists in the country, has called on the government to expand its immunization program and subsidize vaccines for adults, especially senior citizens, who are also vulnerable to many vaccine-preventable diseases.

Age not an issue

Vaccine expert Dr. Lulu Bravo said that many adults were not used to getting vaccinated again after they were immunized as children.

“[We] are not too old to be given a vaccine shot. Everybody should be provided vaccines when they are available,” added Bravo, a professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines Manila-College of Medicine.

She said that one factor preventing the elderly from getting shots was their inability to go by themselves to medical facilities, and their hesitancy to ask their children or relatives to accompany them.

According to Solante, adults can be protected from 14 deadly diseases through vaccination. These are shingles, hepatitis A and B, whooping cough, mumps, measles, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, flu, meningococcal disease, chicken pox, rubella, HPV (human papillomavirus) and diphtheria.

Only 2 vaccines free

However, only two vaccines (flu and pneumonia) are subsidized by the government under the DOH’s National Immunization Program, which is more focused on targeting children.

To get the 12 other vaccines, seniors need to use their own money. Some of the shots, however, are costly. For instance, an HPV vaccine which needs three shots that must be administered over a six-month period costs P12,000 or P4,000 per shot.

“I want to get the other vaccines, but they are too expensive. We will just use the money to buy food and other daily needs,” Villablanca said.

“But if they will be given for free by the government, of course, I will avail of them, even if I have to fall in line for hours. In the end, these will save us from being hospitalized or buying medicines which are more expensive,” she added.

According to Dr. Arthur Dessi Roman of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, a PCP affiliate, while many adults are still hesitant to get inoculated due to the Dengvaxia vaccine scare from 2017 to 2018, many have since become more open after seeing the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

READ: DOH chief: COVID-19 bivalent vaccine now available for general population

He said it was now the responsibility of doctors, with the help of the media, to educate and provide accurate information to the public about vaccines, emphasizing their safety and effectiveness.

“If you look at the data on most vaccines today, they are highly effective in protecting us against severe infection from diseases. They are very safe,” Solante said, noting that adverse effects among inoculated individuals were “very small.” INQ