Vaccination Vexation

Why does the sun go on shining? Why does the sea rush to shore? Why are the local government units securing purchases of Covid-19 vaccine? Yes, I know the vaccine is for vaccination of the people in those cities, but isn’t the roll-out regulated by the national government? News has it that many if not all the cities with the power to purchase are opting to get AstraZeneca due to its reported efficacy, price and storage requirements; but isn’t the President seemingly exclusively endorsing Sinovac for the Filipino people; and haven’t we been told not to be choosy? Why do I get a strange feeling with President Duterte and anything that begins with the prefix “Sino-“? I have this hunch where the PSG guys got their shots from.

I remember when I was a kid, my father would tell me, that if I would go get a haircut, I would only go to Cho Sonny at the VIP Barber Shop. Does anyone remember that barbershop near Emily Theater? That one which later became Hair Force One. So, my old man would tell me, that if got to VIP, I should go directly to Cho Sonny, get my haircut only from him, and not to entertain the option of getting it from anyone from the row of barbers there. Yes, obviously Papa and Mr. Sonny were friends. I wonder where could he be now. I wasn’t really a big fan of Cho Sonny’s barber skills, but who was I to be choosy? That was what Papa told me to do.

Now, what I don’t get is why and how is the national government going about with their plan and program with the vaccine; and at the same time, the LGU’s are buying their own bulks? Of course, I guess, it’s a good thing that cities like Naga are getting their own doses and securing their citizens from the virus, but at the onset, I thought this vaccination venture was going to be a national thing. Isn’t the priority list going to be the senior citizens, health care workers, then the police and military and so on? The way I understood then, was that the national government would acquire it then allot the shots down to the local level, something like the IRA or the MOOE. So, why is every city with the capability scrambling to scrounge some valuable vaccine? How does that happen when ? Does the national government get their own package and the LGU’s have theirs? Do they give the shots at their own paces? Would there be a national lane and lots of LGU lanes? I guess, if a DOH nurse gets his shot, maybe he gets indelible ink on one of his fingers, so that the LGU does not give him another one. I guess and hope there would be some semblance of order in thisordeal. Let’s see how they would go about with all these.

This buying barrage of the big cities begs the question, “How about the not so high class municipalities?”. When the candy shower is thrown in the air in a children’s birthday party, and the big boys muscle their way to get their lion’s shares, what about the little kid behind, running from his corner? Does he and the other kids like him get their share of candy? Maybe, that’s how life is, to whom much is given, much is the ability to get. On the other hand, maybe, it is just right that these large urban centers really take the lead in having their residents vaccinated. After all, the high percentage of Covid-19 infections occur in these big cities. If the city slickers get immune from the virus, there would be little to no chance of contagion in interaction with the folk from the countryside. I guess, that makes it equitably fair.

But then, in a free country such as ours, a person could not be forced to get the vaccine, if he doesn’t want to. Could he? That crossed my mind because of the NCR survey which reported that about only 25% of the respondents are willing to roll up their sleeves to get that vaccine up their veins. Come on, guys. It’s like saying, I’m hungry, but I don’t want to eat, thirsty but I don’t want to drink, poor but too lazy to work. The vaccine is our only hope. We can’t afford the same level of discipline that the people of Cambodia, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam have. With our culture of carelessness, it’s injection or infection for us; no middle ground. So, we all better get our butts cooperating and quit complaining; or have we made a comfort zone of complaining?

“But all things should be done decently and in order”

1 Corinthians 14:40