'TRUST SCIENCE'

Ex-DOH chief to public: Don't let Dengvaxia issue discourage you from taking COVID-19 vaccine

A former secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday urged the public to trust science and not let the Dengvaxia controversy discourage them from getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Wala tayong sasandigan kundi siyensiya pa rin,” said Dr. Esperenza Cabral, who was DOH chief from January to June 2010, during a Palace briefing.

Cabral made the appeal after studies showed that the controversy over the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia has reduced the public’s confidence on vaccines.

Cabral also lamented that the Dengvaxia issue was marked by "false narratives on scientists." "Nabastos ang mga scientists kaya nawalan ng kumpiyansa ang tao."

“Itong pag-aaral sa Dengvaxia, mahigit pa sa pag-aaral ng COVID-19 vaccine. Pilipinas lang po sa buong mundo ang hindi gumagamit ng Dengvaxia. Hindi po totoo na ito ay nakakamatay,” she said.

Cabral urged government institutions like the Senate and the House of Representatives, which held separate investigations on the Dengvaxia controversy, to help win back the public's trust on vaccines.

"These same institutions ang meron ring kakayahang magbalik ng publiko na anyayahan ang mga tao to come out ang get the vaccine so we can all stay healthy,” Cabral said.

The Dengvaxia controversy started in November 2017 when Sanofi-Pasteur — the vaccine's manufacturer — announced that their vaccine posed a risk to those who were not infected by dengue prior to being injected with the vaccine.

Cabral likewise said healthcare workers should be at the forefront in convincing people to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

“The healthcare providers should provide people the information on the vaccines because the people will believe them rather than politicians or attorneys,” she said.

Two COVID-19 vaccines have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorization (EUA) so far.

The FDA found that the COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech will reach its 92% to 95% efficacy rate after two doses administered 21 days apart.

On the other hand, the FDA said that AstraZeneca's vaccine has a 70% efficacy rate after the first dose, a rate that increases after the second dose is administered four to 12 weeks after.

The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility, which include that of Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca, is due to arrive in the country within the first quarter and is expected to be deployed in COVID-19 referral hospitals.

The initial doses will include at least 117,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and 5.5 million doses from AstraZeneca. —KBK, GMA News