PROMISE. Members of the Association of Unified Development Information Officers in Bohol raising their questions regarding vaccination. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, March 11 (PIA) -- An epidemiologist at the Department of Health (DOH) Center for Health and Development in Region 7 has urged Boholanos to avail of the last and final individual protection against corona virus disease (COVID-19).
Dr. Juanitu Zuasola Jr., epidemiologist at the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) of the DOH-7, explained that vaccination is important for the country to attain herd immunity.
Herd immunity, according to health practitioners, is a form of indirect protection from infectious disease that can occur with some diseases when a sufficient percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, whether through vaccination or previous infections, thereby reducing the likelihood of infection for individuals who lack immunity.
This is also in consideration that there are people in the community who would not be vaccinated for several reasons: an underlying illness that could trigger fatal reactions with the vaccine, those with compromised autoimmune systems like those with HIV or kidney transplant patients, or those who have contraindications to certain kinds of vaccine.
With herd immunity, the chances of transmitting the infection would be lowered as more people develop immunity against the infection.
Polio, for example, needs 80 percent of the population to be immune before a community can attain herd immunity.
On the other hand, measles which is a viral airborne disease, needs 95 percent of the total population vaccinated to keep the remaining 5 percent who cannot be vaccinated safe from the infection.
According to Zuasola, DOH has pegged an initial threshold of between 70 to 75 percent of the population immunized through vaccination or direct infection to attain herd immunity against COVID-19.
Government officials as well as medical frontliners who have availed of the vaccine have been assuring the public on the safety and importance of the vaccines amid the spreading false reports of the vaccine's safety.
Sinovac, the first vaccine that arrived in the Philippines, uses inactivated virus.
Zuasola stressed that the best vaccine is the one that is available for now.
The DOH offiical, however, bared that as of now, it is still not known for how long the vaccine can protect one from infection.
“As to how long we can have the protection (from vaccination), we still have no information,” Zuasola told information officers here on March 11.
Unlike polio vaccine which provides a lifetime immunity, COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers have not had enough time to study and put into medical test the length of protection the vaccines can offer.
Zuasola added that even if a person is already vaccinated, it is still important to keep wearing face masks, face shields, practice frequent handwashing or disinfection, and follow the physical distancing protocols. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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