Get protected anti-COVID:

“Choose to be vaccinated”

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, March 11 (PIA) – Amidst the reported diminishing acceptability of the Filipinos to vaccination owing to discordant information emanating from unchecked and unverified sources, an epidemiologist at the Department of Health (DOH) Center for Health and Development in Region 7 calls on Boholanos to get the last and final individual protection against corona virus disease (COVID).

Dr, Juanitu Zuasola Jr., epidemiologist at the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) of the DOH in Central Visayas explained that vaccination is important for the country to be able 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 can not be vaccinated for several reasons: an underlying illness that could trigger fatal reactions with the vaccine, those with compromised auto-immune systems like those with HIV or kidney transplant patients or those contraindicated to the kind of vaccine used.

By attaining herd immunity, it simply means a largely diminished possibility of infection because the virus would have significantly low chances of getting passed as most people already attaining immunity.

Polio, for example needs 80 percent of the population to be immune, before a community can attain hered immunity, while for measles, the viral airborne disease needs 95% of the total population vaccinated to keep the remaining 5% who can not be vaccinated safe.

However, while other diseases have known population thresholds or percentage of the population to be immune from the disease to attain herd immunity, COVID, the novel viral disease has left scientists baffled as to its threshold.

According to Dr. Zuasola, they country’s health department has pegged an initial threshold of between 70 to 75 percent of the population immunized through vaccination or direct infection to attain herd immunity.

With the arrival of the first vaccines that reportedly came from China, misinformation began to be shared on social media, pushing more and more less informed individuals to chicken out.

To prove that the vaccine is safe and effective, government authorities flooded television and social media with assurances from medical front-liners who already got the vaccine jabs.

Sinovac, the first vaccine that arrived uses inactivated virus, and this has not much contraindications

Dr. Zuasola however, toeing the line of the medical experts, stressed that the best vaccine is the one that is available for now.

Even then, the epidemiologist bared that as of now, nobody still knows how long can the vaccination provide for one’s protection.

“As to how long we can have the protection [from vaccination], we still have no information,” he told members of the information officers gathered at the Azalea Hall of the Reynas Garden, March 11.

Unlike polio vaccine which provides a lifetime immunity, COVID vaccine manufacturers have no luxury of time to study and put into medical test the length of protection the vaccines, which are now issued emergency use authority, offer.

Along this, Dr Zuasola added, even if one is already vaccinated, that does not mean that he can stop wearing face masks, face shields, or stop the habit of disinfecting by constant washing of hands and keeping the physical distance. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

BEST AND FINAL INDIVIDUAL PROTECTION. In his online message to Boholanos, DOH 7 epidemiologist Dr Juanito Zualsola Jr., urges Boholanos to get the vaccines free from the government so that the country could attain a high proportion of population who would be immune to the virus to attain herd immunity and help protect those who could not physically take the jabs. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

PROMISE. As information officers. AUDIO members would be getting from the DOH its frequently asked questions regarding vaccination to increase people’s confidence and help attain for the country a high proportion of population getting immunity. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)