Get Vaccinated in PH: In an article published in the Manila Times, microbiologist Dr. Nina Gloriani explains the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19. She stresses that there is no time for the public to be choosy especially that there are now three vaccines given the green light for emergency use in the country – Pfizer and BioNTech’s Cominarty, AstraZeneca’s AZD1222, and Sinovac Biotech’s CoronaVac. Read: Expert: No time to be choosy with vaccine, an article by the Manila Times.
Here are excerpts of Dr. Gloriani’s explanation as published in the Manila Times.
Fifty percent efficacy is still better than zero: “Para sa akin, kung ano ang mauna d’yan, kung high-risk ka for exposure to Covid, you take the vaccine, a 50-percent efficacy is better than zero. Hindi tayo pwedeng mag-wait nang matagal, dahil ang variants nandito na. Kung ang tao, nag-iingat mabuti, wala nang pupuntahan ang virus kasi ang virus, habang may malilipatan na buhay na cells, dadami s’ya at dadami; at habang siya ay nagre-replicate, mataas ang mutation nya kaya dapat mapigil ang transmission.”
On Sinovac’s Coronavac: “If you test the vaccine in a general population where the exposure to Covid is lower, tataas ang efficacy mo, maiiba iyun. At the time of the clinical trial, ang taas ng kaso ng Covid cases sa Brazil…if you are talking about 10,000 na binigyan ng bakuna — kalahati placebo — puro health care workers ‘yun and in a situation na mataas ang cases, mataas din ang possibility or probability na magkaka-Covid sila so mataas ‘yung gan’ung scenario.”
Vaccination is important: “With a pandemic vaccine, hindi natin expect na mapo-protektahan ang lahat, pati mild, moderate, severe, but what we are after, na ma-protektahan against the severe form of the disease, kasi ayaw natin may mamatay, may ma-critically ill kasi ‘yung health care system, papanik din ang ating resources doon.”
Get Vaccinated in PH: It may be recalled that the first shipment of Sinovac vaccine arrived in PH last February 28. A total of 600,000 doses, donated by the Chinese Government, was received around 4:10pm at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City. The arrival of the vaccine also marked the beginning of the inoculation campaign in the country.
