THE presence of more transmissible variants of the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has made the vaccines more essential, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo said Friday, June 25, 2021.
"We need to speed up our immunization program so that we can prevent the spread of this variant. It is actually more important to get vaccinated now,” Domingo said in a media forum, referring to the Delta variant (B.1.617.2).
"Our border control is very strict to make sure that the Delta variant doesn’t come in. But if it does come in, it will be harder to spread if we are already vaccinated," he added.
The FDA chief said the report that the vaccine's efficacy is lower against the new variants is not enough reason to shun the vaccine.
"There are studies showing it reduces the efficacy of the vaccines against the variants. But the protection against the virus is not completely lost," he stressed.
In the Philippines, there have been 17 Delta variant cases, all involving returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs).
Domingo also stressed that all vaccines provide a significant amount of protection against Covid-19.
Vaccine that have been issued emergency use authorization by the FDA are safe and effective, he said.
"Whatever brand is better than no vaccine. And that every brand approved by the FDA have been able to meet the level of protection required from a vaccine," he added.
"There is no single brand that can supply vaccines for all Filipinos. This is why we need to spread out the different brands among different populations," he added. (HDT / SunStar Philippines)