THE Department of Health (DOH) has emphasized that vaccinating senior citizens remains a top priority but acknowledges that budget constraints and logistical challenges often limit the reach of vaccination campaigns.At a free flu vaccination event earlier this month, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said the department fully supported the Philippine Plan of Action for Senior Citizens, a five-year blueprint that protects seniors from preventable diseases and reduces the burden on the health care system.At the same event, however, Bacoor Mayor Strike Revilla said that, given their limited resources, local governments rely on the DOH and private-sector support to provide flu vaccines.Influenza and pneumonia are two of the most common diseases among people ages 60 and older. In the Philippines, influenza was estimated to account for an average of 5,374 excess deaths yearly or about 1.1 percent of the average annual all-cause deaths from 2009 to 2015.The statistics are sobering. About two in three of these deaths occurred in adults 60 and older. Pneumonia, moreover, is one of the leading causes of death among Filipinos ages 60 and older.In light of this, many international and local health societies, including the Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, strongly recommend that persons ages 60 and older be given the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines to address flu and pneumonia.Against this backdrop, we welcome the proposal from a coalition of health advocates calling for urgent revisions to the Expanded Senior Citizens Act to emphasize the need for equitable access to life-saving vaccines and health care services for all Filipino seniors.The proposed reforms, the Raising Awareness on Influenza to Support the Elderly (Raise) coalition, aim to address gaps in the current health care system that leave many senior citizens vulnerable due to financial, geographical or logistical barriers. Raise argued that, while the law provides numerous benefits for senior citizens, including discounts and health services, there is a pressing need to prioritize the inclusion of comprehensive vaccination programs.'No senior should face unnecessary risks to their health because of preventable diseases,' Raise said. 'We must ensure that every Filipino senior, regardless of their socioeconomic status or location, has access to essential vaccines and health care services.'The coalition's proposals include expanding the scope of free vaccination programs under the Senior Citizens Act; increasing government funding for immunization efforts focusing on the elderly; enhancing awareness campaigns to educate seniors and their families about the benefits of vaccines; and strengthening partnerships between local government units and health care providers to ensure broader coverage.Also worth noting is House Bill 11055, or the Safeguarding Seniors: Free Immunization Act, which seeks to amend the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, to include all seniors, not just indigents, in free immunization programs.AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbur Lee, who proposed the bill, says vaccination for all senior citizens is in line with the objectives of Republic Act 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act, which promotes free treatment and medicine for all Filipinos.Under the measure, senior citizens will receive free immunization not only for influenza and pneumococcal disease, but also for pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, diphtheria and other diseases as deemed necessary by the DOH.Lee's bill mirrors that of Dr. Rontgene Solante, president of the Philippine College of Physicians, who says free vaccines for the elderly must not be limited to influenza or pneumonia shots.Solante says it is important that policymakers allocate a higher budget to cover not only the indigent population but the entire elderly population. This, he argues, would be money well spent because a cost-benefit analysis of vaccination against four prevention diseases in older adults shows that, from a societal perspective over a 30-year time horizon, vaccination of older adults is good value for money — reducing direct medical costs, societal over-the-counter medication costs, and productivity losses due to disease and disease-related mortality.On the whole, preventative health care measures such as vaccines are cost-effective strategies that reduce the burden on the health care system while improving the quality of life for seniors. While there may no longer be enough time for the current Congress to see this through, the idea should be on the legislative agenda of lawmakers we vote into office in the coming midterm elections.
