Philippines ex-vaccine czar doubts alleged US-led ‘anti-vax’ campaign

MANILA, Philippines — Allies of the Philippine government at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic supported any vaccine available at the time, according to presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr.

ABS-CBN quoted Galvez as saying that reports alleging a US-backed propaganda that tried to discredit China’s Sinovac vaccine are not true.

“I believe it is not true,” he reportedly asserted in a statement.

Galvez was the National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar during the peak of the pandemic.

A Reuters report, which saw print over the weekend, alleged that the US military allegedly launched a clandestine program to discredit China’s Sinovac during the pandemic.

Galvez explained that countries supporting the Philippines during the pandemic said the best vaccine during the pandemic is the vaccine that is immediately available.

“I am not aware of anything like this since all countries, through their embassies, are trying to help us to acquire available vaccines in the market,” he said.

“As far as I can remember, most of our friends and allies even said that ‘the best vaccine is the vaccine (on) our shoulders,’ meaning, whatever vaccine we had and (was) available, we have to take it immediately,” he added.

China-made Sinovac was one of the early vaccines made available to the country at the height of the pandemic.

Public distrust

In a related development, Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin yesterday cautioned against any effort to demonize a vaccine, saying it would lead to public distrust in immunization programs.

Garin, a former health secretary, noted that public health should be insulated from military operations because in the end, the victims would be the people and the public health programs.

“Accountability should be in place,” she said in a television interview as she underscored the need for the media to be discerning in getting people to interview about public health.

She added that if a certain vaccine is “demonized,” it will “create public distrust in all vaccines and all vaccination programs.”

Garin made the statement following reports that the US military had launched a clandestine program to discredit China’s Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, House of Representatives Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro strongly condemned the US government, particularly the Pentagon, for running a secret anti-vaccination campaign.

Castro said this is “deeply concerning” as it would “cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of Chinese vaccines,” which were the primary vaccines used by the Philippines to combat COVID-19.

“The impact of this operation on public health cannot be overstated. Public health experts have rightly criticized this campaign for endangering lives and undermining trust in vaccines, including those manufactured in the United States,” she added.

The lawmaker emphasized that this campaign would contribute to “vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines, a country where vaccine coverage was already limited, leading to unnecessary loss of lives.” — Sheila Crisostomo