Few ‘breakthrough infections’ among 2nd vaccine dose recipients, says Vergeire

Some Filipinos have tested positive for the coronavirus despite receiving two shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

“These are not many. There are just a few cases,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a mix of Filipino and English at a press briefing.

She declined to give additional information pending verification of the circumstances surrounding these cases, including how many days after the second dose were the infections confirmed.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control, people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series. The COVID-19 vaccines currently being used in the Philippines are 2-dose vaccines.

“We are studying and we will give information in the coming days,” Vergeire said.

She also maintained that vaccines work.

“We are sure that it’s going to protect us from severe infections and hospitalizations. So, let us not be doubtful. Let us give that confidence to our vaccines,” she said.

Studies have found that vaccines greatly lower the risk of infection, transmission, and severe cases requiring hospitalization.

More than two million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to government records.

A total of 8,407,342 doses have been administered as of June 20, the DOH said. Of this number, 6,253,400 shots were for the first dose while 2,153,942 were for the second dose.

Vaccine brands delivered to the Philippines to date include Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Sputnik V. — BM, GMA News