By Alec Go
Vaccinating more people instead of administering booster shots to fully vaccinated individuals is a better strategy amid limited vaccine supply and the threat posed by the COVID-19 Delta variant, a specialist said.
Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PVF) Exec. Dir. Dr. Lulu Bravo said in the Aug. 26 Palace briefing that booster shots do not guarantee full immunity against the virus when 90% of the world’s population remains unvaccinated.
She said it would be more effective to mass inoculate to prevent the emergence of variants. This is amid new studies on booster efficacy and the reduced protection produced by vaccines after several months.
“Ang istratehiya po niyan sa buong mundo ay magbakuna nang magbakuna sapagka’t mas marami po ang mabakunahan, mas maliit po ang tiyansa na kumalat [ang virus],” she said.
“Maski na mag-booster kayo… hindi pa rin ligtas sapagka’t iyon pong mga variant ay nagdi-develop hangga’t hindi pa bakunado ang 70 to 90% of our citizens,” she added.
Among the factors listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in administering booster shots are waning immunity, vaccine effectiveness, and global supply and equity.
No worries on the jab
Bravo, who chairs the National Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee (NAEFIC), said immunity duration and reactions from the vaccine vary for each person, and that breakthrough infections may still occur.
However, the risk of hospitalization and development of severe disease from COVID-19 is lower for fully vaccinated individuals. There are also very few incidents of death despite getting jabbed.
Read more: FDA data: Below 1% adverse events reported since March vax rollout
“Isa o dalawa lang po iyang nakikita namin so far… Iyon iyong sinasabi namin na… may comorbidity. Ang kanila pong immune system ay hindi normal – hindi po sila talaga nakakasagot ng kagaya ng normal na tao sa sakit or sa bakuna,” she said.
“Huwag kayong mag-alala kung kayo ay bakunado, mag-alala po kayo kung kayo ay hindi bakunado. Iyon pong tinatawag na duration, hindi pa po tapos ang pag-aaral sa lahat ng bakuna,” she added.
Department of Health (DOH) data show that only 0.23% of all vaccine recipients in the country reported adverse reactions which are mostly mild and were immediately resolved.
The Philippines has already vaccinated 31,433,450 individuals as of Aug. 25, 2021. Of this number 13,371,734 have received their complete doses. -rir
