On March 16, 2020, President Duterte's government declared and imposed an enhanced

community quarantine or ECQ in Luzon wherein Ilocos Norte, our place, is included in the
lockdown. The government imposed strict lockdown rules on the said island. Some of the
lockdown rules were restrictions on the people's movement; non-essential businesses do not
permit in operation and travel restrictions. However, these rules did not stop the increasing
number of cases of COVID-19 in the country.

It was October 2020 when, unfortunately, the Philippines entered the list of 20 countries with the
most number of coronavirus cases worldwide and already has the most COVID-19 cases in
Southeast Asia. 
Now that months have passed, our country has 514,000 estimated cases, according to the JHU
CSSE COVID-19 data. 

Filipinos have faced struggles and hunger due to the lockdown. Some of the frontliners even died
in battling the increasing COVID-19 cases in our country. Moreover, Filipinos, especially
frontliners, pleaded for a timeout and cried for help. They refer to every Filipino citizen's
discipline in facing the pandemic and the government in purchasing or investing in COVID-19
vaccinations. 

In December 2020, as the country pursues avenues to secure COVID-19 vaccines, prices of
available and soon-to-be-available COVID-19 vaccines started to evoke curiosity. It is also
stated how many Filipinos could be treated based on the vaccine's price and the P82.5 billion
budget allotted by the Philippine government for acquiring COVID-19 vaccines this 2021.

The seven vaccine brands that the Philippines might obtain for its planned vaccination program
are as follows:

1. Moderna. Moderna is a Massachusetts-based biotechnology company that focuses on

drug discovery and development. It also makes vaccines based on mRNA (messenger
RNA). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website said the
vaccine, also known as "mRNA-1273," basically uses mRNA. This genetic molecule
carries the instructions for making proteins in our body. This vaccine requires two
shots that will be given 28 days apart. The mRNA in the vaccine will instruct cells to
make a harmless spike protein – which can also be seen on the surface of SARS-
CoV-2, the new variant of coronavirus that causes respiratory disease COVID-19,
said the CDC website. According to the CDC, the protruding spikes and spike
fragments in the cell will then be recognized by the immune system and cause an
immune response that produces antibodies. These antibodies stop the coronavirus
from attacking other cells by attaching to the virus's spikes. The antibodies can also
mark the virus so other cells can detect and destroy it. 
According to Angara's data, Moderna's vaccine will cost around P3,904 to P4,504 for
two doses per person. Moderna is the most expensive among the list of vaccines
based on the senator's information.
Angara said that approximately 18,317,051 to 21,132,172 Filipinos might receive this
vaccine under the earmarked P82.5 billion budget for COVID-19 vaccines.
 Moderna announced last month that it had finished the first interim analysis of the
Phase 3 study for mRNA-1273. According to the company, the study showed that its
vaccine has an efficacy rate of 94.5 percent. Based on a study published in The New
England Journal of Medicine, Moderna's vaccine can protect for at least three months.
However, according to a New York Times report, since the vaccine is new,
researchers still have no idea how long the vaccine's protection will last.
2. Sinovac. Sinovac is a Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company founded in 2001.
Their focus is on the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines against
infectious diseases such as H1N1 influenza and COVID-19. Unlike Moderna, which
uses RNA in its vaccines, Sinovac’s CoronaVac relies on inactivated pathogens that
are grown and killed in laboratories.
Like the inactivated vaccines used for polio, this vaccine uses the killed viruses to
produce antigens, which signal the immune system to attack the virus, causing
COVID-19.
The second-most-expensive vaccine on the data is Sinovac, with a price tag of P
3,629.50 for two doses per person. Some 22,730,403 Filipinos may benefit from the
vaccine if acquired by the government, according to Angara’s information.
3. Pfizer-BioNTech. US-based multinational pharmaceutical corporation, Pfizer, is also
known as one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.
On the other hand, BioNTech SE is a German biotechnology company that focuses on
individualized immunotherapies. Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine is similar to Moderna’s
mRNA-1273 in the sense that it uses mRNA to eliminate the new coronavirus SARS-
CoV-2.
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech’s vaccine costs P2,379 for two doses per
person. Data showed that roughly 34,678,436 Filipinos might get the shots based on
the government’s allocated fund for vaccine procurement next year.
Pfizer-BioNTech began its first shipment of the vaccines to several states in America
on December 13.
4. Gamelaya. The Gamelaya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology is a
Russian medical-research institute founded in 1891. According to Gamelaya, it “runs
one of the unique “virus libraries” in the world and has its own vaccine production
facility.” Aside from their research for the COVID-19 vaccine, they are also working
to develop a vaccine against Ebola and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
(MERS).
Sputnik V is a two-part adenovirus-based vector vaccine. It uses a vector (an
engineered virus that lacks the gene to reproduce) to send a message in cells to
produce spike proteins.
Named after the first Soviet space satellite, Gamaleya Research Institutes’s Sputnik V
vaccine is worth P 1,220 for two doses per person. According to the data provided by
Angara, with its price, the vaccine may be administered to 67,622,950 Filipinos using
the P82.5 billion budget
5. Covavax Facility. COVAX Facility, also known as the COVID-19 Vaccines Global
Acces Facility, is a global mechanism designed to guarantee rapid, fair, and equitable
access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.
 It is co-led by Gavi, an international organization created to improve access to new
and underused vaccines, along with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness
Innovations and the World Health Organization.
“The COVAX Facility will make investments across a broad portfolio of promising
vaccine candidates (including those being supported by CEPI) to make sure at-risk
investment in manufacturing happens now,” Gavi explained. Since it follows a
pooling process, COVAX can ensure rapid access to vaccines. 
According to the Philippines’ vaccine czar Galvez, about 80 percent of the vaccines
in the global market were already taken by rich countries. The COVAX Facility, on
the other hand, was able to acquire 2 percent.
6. AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and
biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development and commercialization
of prescription medicine. Their medicines are targeted for the treatment of
cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, inflammation, autoimmune, oncology,
infection, and neuroscience diseases. AstraZeneca collaborated with the University of
Oxford to create a COVID-19 vaccine. Like Russia’s Sputnik V, AstraZeneca’s
vaccines use a genetically altered virus called adenovirus. This virus, which is not
harmful to recipients, will carry spike protein (like the “crowns” in coronavirus).
Injecting this, in theory, will help the immune system to recognize and attack
coronavirus. AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford announced on December 8
that it finished the Phase 3 interim analysis for the vaccine. The researchers noted that
the efficacy rate for two doses – with the first dose at half strength – reached 90
percent. While a combination of two full-strength doses only resulted in 62 percent
efficacy. COVAX Facility, compared to the first four companies on the list, offers a
lower price for COVID-19 vaccines. Data showed that it would only cost around
P854 for two doses per person. It can vaccinate at least 96,604,215 Filipinos, based
on the information of Senator Angara.

7. Novavax. Novavax, a late-stage US biotechnology company, focuses on discovering,

developing, and commercializing vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. This
Maryland company is smaller compared to other vaccine manufacturers. They
received a $1.6 billion grant from the US government’s Operation Warp Speed to
produce 100 million doses by 2021. according to an article published in the Science
Magazine, a peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, Novavax first inserts baculovirus into moth cells. The
baculovirus, a pathogen that attacks insects, will make moth cells produce a protein
called spike present in coronavirus. The spikes are then harvested by scientists and
mixed with a “synthetic soap like a particle” where the spikes can latch. A compound
called saponin, also derived from plants and trees, is also added to boost the immune
response. The NVX-CoV2373 vaccine aims to produce anti spike antibodies that can
block SARS-CoV-2 infection. As of November 30, Novavax said in a statement that
it had completed the enrollment of its 15,000-patient UK Phase 3 trial. The company
added that it has fully enrolled in the Phase 2b trial in South Africa. “Novavax
expects its pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial in the United States and Mexico to begin in
the coming weeks. More than 100 trial sites have been selected with some alternate
sites in place, should they be needed,” the company added.
To sum this up, Filipinos should not fear a COVID-19 Vaccine that is authorized by the FDA.
No matter how well the vaccine works in preventing the coronavirus, it will not end the
pandemic if not enough people take it. Vaccine efficacy is how well the vaccine works in a
vaccinated group compared to a placebo group in a controlled trial. Vaccine effectiveness is the
impact of the vaccine on the community and the dynamics of the disease. If 30% to 50% of the
population don't get vaccinated, the efficacious vaccine has no chance of becoming effective in
the community.