An infectious disease expert believes that the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is already over as several people are now vaccinated against the viral disease.
Dr. Edsel Salvana said that even though coronavirus cases currently has "tripled" because of the Omicron and its subvariants, the number of deaths is "nowhere near" than what was recorded during the surge last year which was driven by the Delta variant.
“In terms of death and severe disease, I think that the worst is over because of vaccination,” said Salvana on Thursday, July 14.
Salvana said that during the Delta surge, the country’s vaccination rate was still low.
“All things taken into consideration, the worst variant is really Delta. Lalong-lalo na doon sa Pilipinas, doon talaga pinakamaraming namatay and muntik nang bumagsak yung ating healthcare system (Especially in the Philippines, wherein several people died and our healthcare system almost collapsed),” he said.
At present, a large number of Filipinos are already vaccinated against the disease, said Salvana.
“Mataas na yung antas ng ating pagbabakuna bagama’t kinakailangan talaga natin habulin yung boosting (The level of our vaccination is already high although there is a need for our booster coverage to catch up),” said Salvana.
“Because of vaccination, we don't expect it to cause us much destruction and death as Delta did,” he added.
Despite this, Salvana said that the threat of Covid-19 still remains. This is because of the ability of the Covid-19 virus to mutate.
“Of course, there is nothing that will stop the virus from continuing to mutate lalong-lalo na kung patuloy ang transmission (especially if the transmission continues),” he said.
“Even if these are mild, even if these are asymptomatic, the virus can continue to evolve,” he added.
Salvana reminded the public to receive their Covid-19 primary vaccination series and get booster shots once eligible. He also urged the public to continue to follow the minimum public health standards.