A century of caring for Filipinos

Zuellig Pharma has reaffirmed its commitment to respond to the various health needs of Filipinos wherever they are as it celebrates its centennial.

A leading health-care services provider in Asia, Zuellig Pharma says it will “continue to be a strong and competent commercial distribution organization” that will “leverage on its state-of-the-art supply chain processes and facilities” to ensure the health needs of its broad range of clients and partners in the country are met.

As it marks a milestone and begins a new era, Zuellig embarks on a campaign that it hopes will not only help liberate the country completely from the shackles of the devastating and deadly COVID-19 pandemic but also set the blueprint for responding to future health crises.

The 100-year-old pharmaceutical company aims to help reverse “vaccine fatigue,” defined as inaction toward vaccine information or instruction due to burnout, according to research published by the journal “Frontiers in Immunology.”

What makes the situation even more alarming is the fact that many people are also tuning out discussions of other immune-boosting shots, threatening to reverse decades of success in fighting many serious illnesses in young and old, like poliomyelitis, measles, chicken pox, hepatitis A, influenza and, recently, dengue and the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes cervical and other forms of cancer.

The urgent need to revitalize and strengthen the vaccination program is felt even in developed countries like the United States and United Kingdom where the debilitating and potentially fatal polio has reemerged.

In a developing country like the Philippines, the toll in human lives and productivity are even more significant. Deaths and disabilities caused by vaccine-preventable diseases lead to millions in economic losses.

Pneumonia, which can be prevented by a vaccine, remains one of the top 10 killers of Filipinos as of January to June 2021, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Nearly 33,000 Filipinos died of pneumonia last year.

Though a vaccine against flu, another common respiratory infection that can also lead to pneumonia, is available, Allan Bautista, Zuellig Pharma vice president for Integrated Solutions, says only around 6 percent of the Philippine population get the shot every year.

Cervical cancer is the second killer of women in the Philippines, according to the Department of Health.

Education is key

Zuellig recognizes the urgent need to educate Filipinos on the importance of vaccines. With its health-care solutions company, Interpharma Solutions Philippines, Inc. (Ispi), Asia’s leading health-care services provider is making it its mission to inform and/or remind Filipinos that vaccines remain the most essential tools in keeping them safe and protected against deadly diseases.

“As a champion of vaccination, Zuellig Pharma aims to make vaccines accessible through vaccination programs for influenza, pneumonia, hepatitis, malaria, HPV and more,” says Bautista.

Even before vaccine became a contentious issue during the COVID-19 pandemic, there had been some reluctance among Filipinos to get vaccinated. Reasons include fear of the vaccine and misconceptions about its effects and side effects, fear of needles, and other unaddressed myths and misinformation.

But with a large poor population, cost is a major reason for limited access. Flu vaccines, for instance, cost from P1,300 to P1,500 and pneumonia vaccines, from P5,000 to P6,000.

To ease access to life-saving vaccines for more Filipinos, Zuellig Pharma has developed packages and programs for corporate partners and local governments so they can offer vaccination as an additional benefit to their employees or constituents. The packages offer savings of as much as 40 to 50 percent.

“Our mission is to make health care more accessible to everyone. By making vaccines easily available, immunization rates will rise, which will be beneficial for the country as a whole,” says Bautista. He stresses the importance of partnering with various groups and entities to promote health care for all.

Ispi has already conducted vaccination caravans and partnered with some 100 companies/private institutions. It has also worked with corporations and organizations for the vaccination of employees and members.

Zuellig Pharma developed eZHealth, a total health-care solutions mobile platform which now has more than 2.9 million users. It allows consumers to access personalized health-care needs, like scheduling vaccination appointments. eZHealth has helped bring down the cost of immunization.

The company will continue to partner with local governments and private and public entities in education and vaccination programs to further expand vaccine penetration.

“Zuellig Pharma hopes to prevent diseases, promote [better] health for Filipinos and help save lives through end-to-end collaborations with local governments and private groups,” says Jannette Jakosalem, Zuellig Pharma market managing director for the Philippines.

As the company marks its 100th year of making health care more accessible to Filipinos and in keeping with its theme “Sandaang Taong Kaagapay sa Buhay” (100 years of being partners in life), the company, she says, remains committed to working closely with everyone to promote health access. —contributed INQ

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