‘VACCINE GIVES US HOPE’

SOME of the health workers who were inoculated against Covid-19 on Monday expressed relief for having some protection from the respiratory illness that has claimed millions of lives worldwide.

Dr. Eileen Aniceto, a pulmonologist and head of the emergency and outpatient department at the Lung Center of the Philippines, shared that the vaccine gave them hope, saying, “This is giving us hope as far as health care workers are concerned. Every day there is the chance of getting the disease.”

She added that she did not want to wait any longer and wanted to get vaccinated with the first available vaccine that would arrive in the country.

“Ayoko nang maghintay (I don’t want to wait); there is always a threat of getting Covid. There is also the threat of dying from Covid, with so many vaccines available. There are many efficacies available, but for preventing them, they are all the same,” she told The Manila Times minutes before she was inoculated.

Twenty other medical professionals at the Lung Center received their jabs.

Aniceto, who was vaccinated by Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd, joked that being inoculated by the Health chief made her feel like a guinea pig.

Aniceto said she listened to infectious disease experts such as Dr. Edsel Maurice Salvana and Dr. Rontgene Solante before deciding to be vaccinated.

“They studied all the scientific data and I will trust their judgment is enough to put my faith on. And I am hoping that by being the first one in Lung Center, I hope to give that message to everyone also,” she added.

Nursing aide Jove Erdadan, meanwhile, said he wanted to be protected against Covid-19 and that he trusted the vaccine.

Eleazar Sobinsky, president of the Lung Center of the Philippines Employees Association, refused to take any vaccine made in China.

He said he would wait for a vaccine made either in Russia or the United States.

The police and the military had their own vaccination rollouts, with two persons who received their first doses exhibiting “very mild” reactions.

In the military, the first to get the vaccine was Col. Fatima Claire Navarro, commanding officer of the V. Luna Medical Center. Her first dose of CoronaVac was also administered by Duque.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles and Quezon City Mayor Josefina Belmonte witnessed the rollout at the V. Luna Medical Center.

Navarro said she did not feel any adverse effects afterwards and the injection itself did not cause any pain.

“I didn’t feel anything different after the vaccination. No feeling of heaviness, nothing painful and even the injection, there was nothing unusual,” she told reporters.

She noted that they had studied all vaccines and their possible reactions and found all of them offered “appropriate” protection from the virus.

“Now, what’s important is the timeliness,” Navarro said. “It’s important that we will save our fellow countrymen’s lives, our lives and our family’s lives against Covid-19.”

Vaccination for military personnel is mandatory. Those who refuse face sanctions under the Articles of War 105.

In Camp Crame, BGen. Luisito Magnaye, head of the Philippine National Police’s Health Services Command, was the first to receive the vaccine.

He said he did not feel anything unusual, but pointed out that 24 hours were needed to monitor possible effects.

At the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, two hospital personnel were taken to the emergency room after experiencing “very mild” effects.

The two unidentified workers developed rashes, but hospital Director Dominador Chiong said they recovered after receiving medication.

Other ranking government officials and health experts who attended the vaccination rollout at PGH also received their shots.

Among them was the Department of Health’s Technical Advisory Group member and infectious disease expert Edsel Salvana.

“I’m alive! Arm hurts but that’s just my immune cells getting ready to churn out anti-Covid antibodies. [Number] 2 to get vaccinated in the Philippines!” Salvana said on Facebook.

Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo was also vaccinated.

He said because the syringe was small and the nurses at PGH were experts at inoculation, he hardly felt the shot.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chief Benhur Abalos was also vaccinated.

He said the death of his mother from the virus inspired him to have the inoculation. Corazon Abalos, the wife of former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., died in January.

The MMDA chief had also tested positive for the virus, contracting it from his mother.

“Don’t let yourself remain unvaccinated. The more individuals who will be inoculated, the earlier our fight against this disease will end,” he said.

Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso attended the event but did not get a shot, saying health care workers should be prioritized.