Amid looming threat from the more transmissible Delta variant, the country’s Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) thumbed down on Thursday, July 29, OCTA Research’s proposal to shorten the interval between administering the two doses of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines.
VEP chairperson Dr. Nina Gloriani said they cannot just give in to the proposed shortened interval for Sinovac and AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine jabs because data showed that longer intervals between inoculations produce higher antibody levels.
“Actually ang data ngayon (the data now) is showing for most of these vaccines mas mahaba haha ang interval mas mataas ang antibody levels (the longer the interval the higher the antibody levels),” she said in a virtual Palace press briefing on Thursday, July 29.
OCTA Research fellow and molecular biologist Fr. Nicanor Austriaco had recommended that the Sinovac two-dose interval be shortened to 14 days and for AstraZeneca, its two-dose interval be cut to eight weeks. He said the two recommendations will help expedite the country's vaccination to protect the people from the Delta variant.
"Hindi po, hindi natin puwedeng bilisan. Maaring tumaas, pero bababa din po agad yan (No, we can’t hurry. It (the antibody) may increase, but it will also decrease immediately),” Gloriani said.
“We have a very good data hindi po puwedeng shorter ang interval (the interval cannot be shorter),” she pointed out.