MANILA, Philippines — Allaying fears over the Delta variant, the Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) said yesterday that all COVID-19 vaccines being administered in the country are effective against it.
At a forum, VEP member Rontgene Solante said that based on available data, the vaccines still work against the highly transmissible variant first detected in India in October 2020.
“I still believe that all of these vaccines, especially the vaccines currently available in the Philippines, are still effective,” he said as concern grows over the strain’s spread through 85 countries around the world.
Apart from spreading more easily, the variant B.1.1617.2 is also found to cause prolonged hospitalization.
While Solante said this is “not something to worry about since cases in the country are only few” as of now, heightened alert must be exercised, especially with people from other countries entering the Philippines.
Vaccination pushed
Isagani Padolina, another VEP member, urged the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19 “to reduce the burden on the hospitalization” as well as transmissibility.
Padolina emphasized how vaccination can also prevent mutation of the virus “because you don’t have it replicating that much anymore.”
“Mutations only happen when they replicate so the more replication happens, the more mutations happen,” he explained.
This was echoed by Food and Drug Administration director general Eric Domingo, saying: “We need to speed up our immunization program so that we can prevent the spread of this variant… It is actually more important to get vaccinated now.”
Domingo added that the country’s border control is very strict but when cases of Delta variant come in, it will be easier to contain if many people are already inoculated.
Delayed second dose
Meanwhile, the VEP allayed fears over delayed inoculation of the second dose of Gamaleya’s Sputnik V vaccines against COVID-19, giving assurance that the government would not allow vaccinees to miss their second dose.
“We have to reassure the public that the second dose is coming. It may just be delayed but the delay is not significant enough that the vaccines will no longer be effective,” he noted at the same forum.
Solante added that a delay in the second dose would only be “dangerous” if it would reach one year, which he said is unlikely.
He also noted that like Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, the efficacy rate of the first dose of a Sputnik V jab is high. Still, he said the efficacy of the first dose is not expected to last long without the second dose.
For AstraZeneca vaccine, Solante pointed out that a longer interval between doses from four to 12 weeks increased its efficacy rate from 67 percent to 80 percent.
“So we are looking at it the same way because they are both ‘virus vector’ vaccines. So it (delay) is not something to worry for me,” he added.
Herd immunity
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the Philippines’ target of herd immunity is on track.
Reacting to comments made by a UK-based think tank claiming that the Philippines will be among the last countries to achieve herd immunity, he said: “We will prove them wrong.”
As of June 23, the country has administered a total of 9,281,235 shots against COVID-19.
“This development shows that we are on the right track in our vaccination program,” Galvez said.
He said the country’s daily inoculation rate has been steadily increasing, citing the administration of 223,602 jabs last June 22.
Mega-facility
During the celebration of the city of Manila’s 450th founding anniversary the other day, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno launched the city’s Mega COVID-19 Field Hospital located in Rizal Park’s Burnham Green.
The 344-bed field hospital dedicated for mild and moderate COVID-19 cases was completed in 52 days, way ahead of the city’s original completion target of 60 days.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea noted that the facility will help in the government’s efforts to decongest hospitals in the capital, while preventing patients from waiting for longer hours before getting admitted.
Also present at the inauguration were Manila Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna, Duque, Galvez, testing czar Vince Dizon, Sen. Bong Go, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Benhur Abalos and Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Greco Belgica. – Jose Rodel Clapano, Rudy Santos, Edu Punay