Fully vaccinated individuals have a higher chance of surviving from the more infectious Delta variant and other variants of COVID-19.
That is what the Department of Health (DOH) insists despite several studies that COVID-19 variants penetrate antibodies carried by vaccines.
Dr. Edsel Salvana, a member of the DOH technical advisory group, explained that the antibodies are resistant to bacteria and viruses outside the cells.
Antibodies are responsible for transmission and blocking or preventing the spread of the virus within the body.
In addition to antibodies, vaccines also boost cytotoxic T-cells, which destroy the virus that enters the cells.
“Kapag nag-mutate ang virus, bumababa ang transmission, blocking na bisa ng ating mga bakuna pero hindi po bumababa ang T-cells,” said Salvana.
“Ito ang importante para hindi tayo magkaroon ng severe disease kasi kahit makalusot siya sa antibodies, mahahabol pa rin at masa-stop pa rin ‘yong spread ng infection.”
According to data from the DOH, 2 doses of Pfizer vaccine were 88 percent effective against symptomatic cases of Delta variant while 2 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine were 60 percent effective.
DOH has not yet announced how effective the Janssen, Sinovac, and Sputnik vaccines are against the Delta variant.
Public urged to be vaccinated amid threat of Delta variant
According to Salvana, those who are fully vaccinated who test positive for the Delta variant and other variants only experience mild symptoms of the disease.
“It’s your cytotoxic T-cells that protect you from severe infection, and these are much more resilient sa kahit ano pang mutation ang gawin ng virus,” he said.
That is why the government has sent 1.6 million doses of Janssen vaccine from America to various parts of the country.
A portion of AstraZeneca vaccines ordered by the local government of Santa Rosa City, Laguna, has also arrived.
According to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in the country will be sufficient until August.
Galvez assured the government that the vaccine distribution is fair in each region, especially in areas with recorded cases of the Delta variant.
According to the latest government records, nearly 5 million Filipinos, or 4.3 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
About 10 million Filipinos, or 9.4 percent of the population, were vaccinated with the first dose.
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