EDITORIAL - Vaccine scramble

Critics of the Trump administration are calling it an Election Day miracle drug. On the other hand, it could be just coincidence that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has notified American states to prepare for “large-scale” distribution of a vaccine against COVID-19 by Nov. 1, with health workers and other frontliners to get priority.

Nov. 1 happens to be just two days before the US presidential election – a race where surveys indicate that the incumbent, Donald Trump, is trailing his challenger Joe Biden. Concerns were therefore immediately raised that a vaccine is being rushed to burnish the Trump administration’s record in its pandemic response and sway voter sentiment.

The CDC, however, has a pretty reliable record in protecting Americans’ public health. Even the top disease expert in the US, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has said a COVID vaccine is possible by yearend. The major US pharmaceutical companies, which are racing to come out with the vaccine for mass distribution, have reassured the world that they are not dispending with the requisite widespread clinical trials, even if these are being done with unprecedented speed due to the global health emergency.

Still, when it comes to vaccines, Filipinos have enough experience with the one against dengue to understand the perils of rushing to administer new vaccines to the masses. While the government is reportedly talking with pharmaceutical companies in the US and other countries, prudence is still the best protection against unwanted side effects.

Over the weekend, the United Nations Children’s Fund announced that it would ensure access to safe and efficacious vaccines for all COVID-affected countries – nearly the entire planet. This is to prevent discrimination against poor countries that cannot afford to provide vaccines to their population, or those that are not developing their own vaccines.

With the catastrophic impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on public health and the economy, there is a global scramble for safe vaccines. The scramble should not create more problems that may not be undone. With UNICEF stepping in, there is some reassurance that no one will be left behind, and the world can heal as one – which is the only way to stop a pandemic.