COVID-19 vaccination benefits still outweigh risks ---Dizon
The benefits of getting the coronavirus vaccine still outweigh the risks of getting sick, according to the government's testing czar Vivencio Dizon.
Dizon made a pitch for a continuing vaccination program in the country in a bid to give people protection from the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) despite reports of blood clotting among people who received the AstraZeneca vaccines abroad.
Dizon, also Presidential Adviser on Flagship Programs and Projects and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, was among the few government officials who received the Sinovac vaccine dose donated by China early this month.
So far, he has not experienced adverse side effect from the vaccination.
"Lagi nating sinusukat ang risk versus sa benepisyo. At sa ngayon po, napakalaki po ng benepisyo ng mga bakunang ito dahil proven po sila hundred percent na mapipigilan ang malubhang pagkakasakit at ang pagkakamatay (We continue to weigh the risk versus the benefits. And at present, the benefits of the vaccines are very huge because they are proven 100 percent effective to prevent serious illness and death)," Dizon said during a televised press briefing in Ilocos Norte Friday, March 11.
Dizon also recognized the importance of heeding the health experts' advice about vaccination.
He noted there should be sufficient data about the country's vaccination experience before deciding whether or not the immunization program should be halted.
The Department of Health earlier announced it would not halt the distribution of AstraZeneca vaccines in the country despite safety concerns raised abroad.
Denmark, Norway and Iceland have reportedly decided to temporarily suspend the use of AstraZeneca as a precaution after receiving reports of blood clots among vaccine recipients.
In addition to the 600,000 Sinovac vaccines donated by China, the country received over 500,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses under the World Health Organization-led (WHO) COVAX facility.
These coronavirus vaccines have so far been administered to more than 114,000 health frontliners.
Roque lamented that discrediting the coronavirus vaccines has apparently become the norm during the pandemic.
Before the questions raised about AstraZeneca, he observed that some people were also skeptical about the Chinese-developed vaccines.
"Sa panahon ngayon usong-uso talaga ang magpulaan ng bakuna. Ang unang pinulaan ay 'yung Chinese vaccine (During this time, it has become a trend to criticize the vaccines. The Chinese vaccines were first to be criticized)," he said during the same press conference.
"At ngayon naman ang pinupulaan yung AstraZeneca pero as Dr. Lulu Bravo would say there is a science behind a vaccine that has been approved by the different FDAs (Food and Drug Administration) of the world and the WHO for emergency use," he added.