More people need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 now that the Delta variant has entered the Philippines.
That is the opinion of the country’s vaccine expert panel that is open to recommending to the IATF that, if possible, all Filipinos be vaccinated instead of just 70 percent of the population.
“When you have a variant that is highly transmissible, and your protection is 65 to 70 percent, it is not enough. You need to vaccinate everyone,” said Dr. Rontgene Solante, a member of the panel.
Some studies have shown that AstraZeneca is only 60 percent effective against the Delta variant, while Pfizer is only 79 percent effective against the more infectious strain of COVID-19.
In another test, 13 out of 20 vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine or 65 percent of the samples showed decreased neutralizing activity in their body against the Delta variant.
A decrease in the average number of antibodies in some individuals was also monitored even after being injected with vaccines from Moderna and Sputnik V.
Vaccination to expand further amid Delta variant spread
But before IATF experts can recommend raising the Philippine target vaccination rate, they must first see the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on children.
According to the latest government records, 7.2 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
This is only 10 percent of the vaccination requirements for the Philippines to achieve herd immunity.
Meanwhile, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez announced that the Philippines had reached its target of vaccinating half a million individuals in one day.
On July 27, 659,000 people were vaccinated in one day, the highest number since the country’s vaccination program began in March.
The government plans to raise this number to 750,000 by October to achieve herd immunity before Christmas.
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