All COVID-19 vaccines effective, perform well in real world conditions, expert reiterates

The head of the Philippine Vaccine Expert Panel underscored on Friday that all COVID-19 vaccines are effective, especially in real world conditions, as she urged the public to get whatever brand is available.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Dr. Nina Gloriani said the COVID-19 vaccines that have been rolled out in the country all underwent stringent evaluation by experts.

“Sana po iwasan na natin ‘yung pamimili kasi napag-aralan naman po lahat ‘yan. Hindi na nalalayo 'yung kanilang mga efficacy at lalong sa real world situation,” she said.

(Let’s avoid being picky about brands because we studied all of those vaccines. Their efficacies are not that different from each other, especially in the real world situation.)

“Itong mga bakuna na ito ay pare-pareho lang at in fact, ‘yung kanilang mga data ngayon sa real world conditions ay nagpapare-pareho na lang. Mas mataas pa nga ‘yung efficacy kesa noong mga clinical trials,” she added.

(These vaccines are similar. In fact, their data in real world conditions are almost the same and even higher than those recorded during clinical trials.)

Gloriani said authorities are trying to “beef up” communication efforts to boost public confidence in all COVID-19 vaccine brands.

In a separate interview, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya reiterated the government's appeal to the public “not to be choosy” on the COVID-19 vaccine brand they will avail in order to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year.

“So ang pakiusap natin sa ating mga kababayan, ‘wag na po tayong maging choosy because a large portion of the population [is] already getting vaccinated [regardless] of the brand,” Malaya said in an ANC interview.

(So our appeal to our countrymen is not to be choosy because a large portion of our population is already getting vaccinated regardless of the brand.)

“And we are appealing to all that, everybody knows that all vaccines approved by the FDA are efficacious and safe. Therefore, all of them will help us achieve herd immunity,” he added.

Malaya noted that the brand preference on COVID-19 vaccines is only from a small segment of the population.

He said allowing this small portion of the population to decide on the vaccine brands that they will avail will add to the delay in the vaccine rollout.

The DILG official likewise underscored that the Philippines’ vaccination program is not in an “ideal situation” unlike in other countries such as the United States where there are excess vaccines and its constituents can choose whatever brand they like to receive.

He added that the Philippines is “running against time” and the government is eyeing the immediate vaccination of each Filipino to attain heard immunity by the end of 2021.

The Department of Health earlier said there will no longer be public announcements about which vaccine brands are available after people flocked to vaccination sites in Parañaque and Manila to get a Pfizer jab.

A Social Weather Stations poll found that 51% of Filipinos are confident in the government’s evaluation of COVID-19 vaccines but 35% remain uncertain about getting inoculated.

The Philippines has vaccinated over 2 million people as of May 18, still far from the government’s target of inoculating 50 million to 70 million people this year.—with Hana Bordey/AOL, GMA News