Get vaccinated

The lines remain long at vaccination centers particularly in Metro Manila. On the other hand, vaccine hesitancy remains significant in many parts of the country, fueled partly by vaccine skepticism spread by certain physicians who have been slammed by their colleagues, and partly by residual fears generated by the hysteria over the Dengvaxia controversy.

From the start, scientists and infectious disease experts have stressed that no vaccine can guarantee 100 protection. But the COVID vaccines approved for emergency use can protect against hospitalization, severe infection and death.

Even with breakthrough infections attributed to more virulent coronavirus variants particularly Delta, health frontliners point out that the vaccines work. The spokesman for the state-run Philippine General Hospital, a COVID referral facility, cites their experience even as the PGH has been forced to suspend accepting walk-in patients for now except life-threatening cases. This was after the number of COVID patients exceeded the 230-bed capacity of PGH by over 100.

Dr. Jonas del Rosario pointed out that while 90 percent of medical frontliners in PGH are inoculated, 100 breakthrough COVID infections have been recorded for all types of vaccines, but most have only mild symptoms.

Among the 108 adult COVID patients in PGH as of Aug. 3, he noted that 86.2 percent were unvaccinated, 11 percent had received their first dose while only 2.8 percent were fully vaccinated. The fully jabbed had only mild to moderate infections, while many of the unvaccinated were severe and critical cases.

Del Rosario is urging the public to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their household members and officemates, as well as reduce the workload of medical workers.

In recent weeks as a surge believed driven by the Delta variant has forced a return to lockdowns, several hospitals have run out of COVID facilities particularly for critical cases even after adding more beds. Hospitals have expressed concern about increasing resignations of healthcare workers who are exhausted, worried about infection, and unhappy about poor pay and delayed payment of allowances.

With COVID cases yesterday still at a high 17,447 and 113 more deaths, vaccination is the best way not only to save lives but also to help an increasingly overwhelmed healthcare system.