DOH: Protection of most vulnerable is first goal; herd immunity comes second

Published January 13, 2021 05:22 PM By LLANESCA T. PANTI,GMA News

The Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccination program—an unprecedented effort—will finish inoculating those who are vulnerable first before it meets its target of vaccinating 60% to 70% of the population for herd immunity, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made the announcement after World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan and WHO Outbreak Alert and Response Network chairman Dale Fisher

said that herd immunity against COVID-19 cannot be achieved within the year since the worldwide vaccine rollout will take time.

Herd immunity refers to a situation where enough people in a population have immunity to an infection to be able to effectively stop that disease from spreading.

“Alam po natin ang global supply po ng bakuna ngayon ay limitado. Alam rin nating lahat na may kumpetisyon sa pagkuha ng mga bakunang ito. Deliveries of these vaccines will also be in tranches,”  Vergeire said during the Laging Handa briefing.

“Hindi po sabay-sabay ‘yan, kaya naglagay po tayo ng priority population. Ito po iyong mga at most risk at most vulnerable sa ating population. Ang ating pong stratehiya, mabakunahan po natin itong mga vulnerbale sectors of our population para kahit hindi na natin naachieve itong herd immunity, at least, we are assured that we can prevent severe infections among these vulnerable groups of people,” she added.

Vergeire also pointed out that the COVID-19 vaccine, just like any other vaccine, can offer protection against other clinical diseases so it can only get better for those who will get it.

“Itong proteksiyon [against other clinical diseases] ay maibibigay rin ng mga bakunang parating. By prioritizing the population, kahit hindi pa natin ma-achieve iyong herd immunity, as long as we are able cover those people who are most risk of getting this infection or severe infection, iyon na muna ang ating goal for now until we can cover 60% to 70% of our population,” she said.

Vergeire said that the Health Department is still studying on how long each brand of COVID-19 vaccine can provide immunity from the virus.

“Isa rin po sa tinitignan natin ‘yan [in considering which vaccine to buy]. Patuloy pa nating pinag-aaralan. Sa ngayon, wala pang definite na ebidensiya [mula sa amin] para sa length of immunity na mabibigay ng mga bakuna,” Vergeire said.

American firm Moderna earlier said that its COVID-19 vaccine, administered in two doses, can protect the individual who received it for at least a year, and likely for "a couple of years."

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. earlier said that COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac and AstraZeneca are expected to arrive before June this year for the vaccination of the country’s health care workers.

Only Pfizer-BioNTech, Russian firm Gamaleya and AstraZeneca have submitted applications for emergency use authorization before the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

FDA is yet to grant EUA to any vaccine maker at this point.

The Philippines has registered 492,700 COVID-19 cases so far. Of this number, 458,523 are said to have recovered while 9,699 have died.

The total number of active COVID-19 cases is at 24,478. — BM, GMA News

View on GMA News