OCTA warns vs complacency for persons with initial dose of COVID-19 vaccine

MANILA, Philippines — An OCTA Research fellow on Sunday warned against complacency for those with initial shots of their COVID-19 vaccine, saying their protection against the virus remains incomplete. 

Four months of inoculation efforts have yielded over 10 million doses administered, with at least 7.53 million fully vaccinated and 2.52 million with their first. 

Prof. Guido David told DZMM's "Teleradyo," that while 8% in Metro Manila are already complete with their shots, that number remains small from the target of 25 to 30% before easing more curbs. 

"Perhaps those with first dose feel that their protection is already guaranteed and they are going out as if it was the old normal," he said in Filipino. "And that is not the case."

David sought to explain that other countries with high vaccination rates recently saw an uptick in infections. 

He said the new cases there usually come from those with just their initial shot and the unvaccinated.
 
"We should take care and follow guidelines for us not to cause a surge," he added. "Because those who would be hit are the ones with just their first dose or those not yet vaccinated."

The OCTA fellow said the effect of vaccinations in the country are still small given only a fraction of the population have been inoculated. 

In the United States, he said efforts began to produce results after covering 25 to 30% of their people.

But, David said vaccinations have been able to reduce case fatality rates, with the jabs reaching senior citizens and those with comorbidities.

"So that's what we are seeing," he added. "It is still a slight effect but we're saving more lives now...if our senior citizens are 100% protected, we don't have to worry as much."

Sec. Vince Dizon, the country's testing czar, had told a government briefing last week that there are now 11 million vaccine doses administered.

The breakdown on those completely vaccinated and with their first dose were not clear, however.

But as of June 27, there were 2,288,221 elderly individuals with their two doses, and 672,602 with their first. 

There were also 2,566,460 persons with comorbidities complete with their shots, and 710,846 with their initial.