NEARLY a year into different levels of community quarantine, hope amid the pandemic came to Davao Region via a Philippines Airlines commercial flight early morning of March 2, 2021.
The first batch of Sinovac Biotech Ltd. Covid-19 vaccines from China arrived at the Davao International Airport, containing 12,000 doses. Two days after, the second batch of the same vaccine came containing 21,600 doses, making the total Sinovac Biotech’s CoronoVac vaccine allotment in the entire region at 33,600.
In an interview with Department of Health (DOH) Davao Region Director Annabelle Yumang, she said 16,600 frontliners in private and public hospitals in the region will benefit from this vaccine. The inoculation of the vaccine commenced at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) the day after the second batch of Sinovac arrived in the city. From the 16,600 frontliners on the list, Yumang said 5,900 will be coming from SPMC.
Although all frontliners are given the choice of being vaccinated with the first vaccine available or to wait for other brands, the number reflects how the frontliners put their trust worth their life to CoronaVac.
It can be recalled how the reputation of the China-made vaccine had been put into question online because of its 50-percent efficacy compared to other brands with at least 90-percent efficacy. To add to this concern, people on social media had been questioning the intention of China to distribute “less effective” vaccines when Covid-19 was first discovered in their country.
Despite all these speculations, Davao de Oro Provincial Hospital Medical Officer III Dr. Lennon Mars S. Lamsin still decided to be one of the first medical frontliners to be inoculated with the first available vaccine in the region.
"The decision to be vaccinated was grounded on the belief that it is my moral obligation to society and from the current available medical literature available. I tried to read the available information regarding the benefits, including the possible risks. It was only then that I was able to come up with the decision to be vaccinated with the currently available vaccine,” Lamsin shared.
On the same day that the second batch of allotted Sinovac vaccines came to Davao Region, other Philippine Airline flights also brought allocations to different areas in Mindanao. For Cagayan de Oro City, 17,400 doses arrived and 4,200 doses in Cotabato City. This is also from the 600,000 Sinovac total allotments for the entire Philippines.
The vaccination program in Davao Region is also simultaneous with the other parts of Mindanao. Just like Lamsin, the decision to be vaccinated came like common sense for medical technologist Sarah Mae E. Aguilar.
“With Sinovac, yes, I was hesitant at first because it is new and if you will just focus on the 50 percent, you will question its efficacy, but if you will consider that it has 100 percent efficacy in preventing severe cases and was backed up by readings and data, then you will be enlightened to take it,” Aguilar said.
“The safest vaccine is the available one. As long as it will prevent me from being hospitalized because of Covid, then I will take it,” she added.
Aguilar used to work as a medical technologist at the South Cotabato Provincial Hospital pre-pandemic but was eventually assigned at the South Cotabato Covid Laboratory when the pandemic came.
Life without vaccine
The medical frontliners, especially those who have to interact with possible Covid-19 patients, had to do their job for a year without the protection of a vaccine but only of personal protective equipment (PPE), minimum health protocols, and personal measures such as taking vitamins regularly. One can imagine how hard it must be for them to take double or triple the effort that most regular citizens do.
“For me, working in the hospital/Covid laboratory last year was exhausting and fulfilling at the same time. Working in full PPE is also challenging because you get hungry, dehydrated and you feel like you’re going to have a heat stroke anytime. But it’s also fulfilling, especially when you’ve been an instrument in diagnosing a patient earlier so as not to have a severe outcome,” shared Aguilar, who when the virus hit South Cotabato was one of the analysts tasked to examine swab samples “in a negative-pressure lab” wearing full PPE.
For Sheena Ruizol, administrative assistant in a government hospital here in Davao Region, working in the hospital during a pandemic was even tougher because she has a little son to go home to at the end of the day. Sometime in the middle of the pandemic, she, unfortunately, caught the virus and it became very challenging for her.
“I was really cautious with my every action because I have a family whose members belong to the vulnerable population. But I felt betrayed when I got infected. I tested positive with mild symptoms. I got anxious. I had to see a psychiatrist for several episodes of panic attacks and for feeling doomed for months since I got infected. This pandemic did not just infect me physically but more mentally,” she shared. Now, the hospital observes skeleton work schedules, especially for administration personnel like her.
“I had been through the worst things because of Covid. I think of living longer for my son. I have to be protected first since I am the exposed one. Getting the vaccine does not guarantee us a Covid-free life but at least it will ease the anxiety of being infected,” she said.
Nikko, training assistant of a public hospital in the region, said one of the factors that made her go take the vaccine is her family. Like Sheena, Nikko is also a mother of one and would not risk the safety of her own family.
“It is the best way to lessen the risk when I interact with my family, I get to protect them and myself especially that my job involves communicating to all the areas of the hospital. It can’t be helped that we would need to go to specific point persons to get the documents I need because we need e-files as well as hard copies,” explained Nikko.
Frontliners as role models
When the vaccination program in Davao Region started on March 5, 2021 at the SPMC, the first health worker inoculated was the hospital’s officer-in-charge Dr. Ricardo Audan. He was also the first medical health worker recorded to be vaccinated with Sinovac in the entire Mindanao.
“I know many of you are still scared to be vaccinated. That is why I am volunteering myself to assure and show everyone that it is safe and effective. Disregard your fears and doubts now and let’s unite to end the pandemic,” Audan said before he got his first jab, which was done by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III himself.
Many frontliners have also come forward to be vaccinated, not only to protect themselves, their families, and co-workers but also to inspire and show Filipinos that it is a must and that it is safe.
“When we get vaccinated, we are not only protecting ourselves but more importantly we are also protecting those who will not be eligible to receive the vaccine. However, it is important to understand that everyone should have a choice as to what vaccine he or she would like to receive. Every choice or decision must be grounded on reliable and sound information and should be respected. I have always believed that vaccines work and it is our way out of this pandemic,” said Lamsin.
After the vaccination, Lamsin, Ruizol and Aguilar were immediately back to work. Aguilar felt a little bit sleepy and groggy after vaccination but was already okay to work that same afternoon. Nikko, on the other hand, was asked to go home by their boss on the day of the vaccination and observed the work-from-home set-up the day after to observe their bodies’ reaction. As of Friday, March 12, she said she does not feel any significant side effects.
All four of them are looking forward to the second dose of the Sinovac vaccine, which will be administered 28 days after they took the first dose.
On March 10, 2021, the first batch of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine came to Davao City containing 20,000 doses from the 500,000 allotments for the entire Philippines. The number of willing frontliners to be vaccinated may also increase with the coming of AstraZeneca.