Experts on infectious diseases have feared that there could be an upsurge of the new variant of Covid-19 after the elections on May 9, 2022 because the election campaign rallies that often draw huge crowds are virus superspreader events and the immunity of individuals who are yet to receive their booster shot is waning.
“Pwedeng meron tayong (We could have) surge of cases, especially after the election,” Dr. Rontgene Solante, chief of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Unit at the government-run San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, said during Friday’s Laging Handa briefing. “Some people don’t even wear a face mask. So, this is multifactorial, the possible rise in cases after the election or during the next two to three months,” he added (Inquirer.net).
Dr. Solante, a member of the Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP), said the multiple factors of the possible surge of Covid-19’s new variant are the holding of superspreader events and the “waning immunity” among the population of people who have yet to get their third dose or booster shot.
Joey Concepcion, President Duterte’s adviser on entrepreneurship, said he was alarmed by the low booster uptake in the country and proposed the redefinition of “fully vaccinated.” Fully vaccinated individuals, he said, are individuals who already had their primary doses and booster shots. Solante backs Concepcion’s recommendation.
Dr. Solante’s concern on virus superspreader events, particularly the huge campaign rallies, should serve as strong reminder to all candidates of all parties in the coming elections so we could avoid the possible surge of Covid-19 after the polls.
As we all have observed, some people have already stopped putting on their face masks even when inside an enclosed environment. Dr. Solante also noticed this. The Alert Level 1 status, especially in urban centers, where most people are already so carefree and unmindful of the minimum health protocols, could also be the starting point, God forbid, of another surge in Covid-19 infections.
But Dr. Solante, in an interview over GTV yesterday morning, expressed optimism that this Covid-19 pandemic would become endemic in the coming months. But this could only happen if the great majority of the population have already received the third dose or booster shot. The government, he said, should expand its national vaccination days and make it a regular activity.
Concepcion said that as of mid-March the data showed that 73 percent of the population had received the primary doses, but of this figure only 13 percent had received the booster shots. “These are not encouraging numbers,” he said. This was Concepcion’s basis for recommending the redefining of “fully vaccinated.”
Meanwhile, the government’s VEP has recommended a fourth dose for immunocompromised individuals and the elderly. To my fellow senior citizens and health compromised, let’s take the fourth dose of the vaccine against the virus if this will be made available for free. We should not wait for the vaccines to expire.
We could help prevent another surge in infections if all of us, including the seniors and immunocompromised, would take the booster shots of the vaccine against Covid-19, especially if we will be all marching to the polling places come May 9, 2022 to exercise our right to vote.
Concepcion said the vaccines now in stock in the country are also set to expire by June. Beyond that point, he asked where we will get vaccines to address the waning immunity. “The vaccines are available here, right now, and we are encouraging the public to take them while they still can,” he said.