All Covid-19 vax safe for public use: Galvez

MANILA – The government is working hard with vaccine experts to ensure all Covid-19 jabs are safe for public use, National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said on Saturday.

“All vaccines that we procured have the recommendation of our Vaccine Expert Panel. While different vaccine types have different efficacy rates against the Delta variant, all of them, including Sinovac, are working and effective based on real-world data,” Galvez, who is also the vaccine czar, said in a statement.

Citing Philippine General Hospital (PGH)’s admission data, Galvez said unvaccinated Covid-19 patients have higher risk to develop severe symptoms.

Based on the data as of Aug. 26, some 66 out of 280 adult coronavirus patients are in critical conditions, with 21 of them currently intubated and on life support system, Galvez said.

Of those under critical treatment, 55 are unvaccinated, he added.

“While fully-vaccinated individuals can still get infected, none of them are intubated or on life support. This is real-world evidence from our hospital here in the country, majority of Covid-19 admissions and critical patients are unvaccinated,” he said.

Galvez noted that all vaccines, regardless of brands, were duly “scrutinized and screened” for safety and efficacy and vaccine experts are also guiding the government to put in place necessary measures to ensure an efficient Covid-19 vaccination program in the country.

“The national government and expert groups remain vigilant and transparent in assuring the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines,” he added.

According to the NTF vaccination tracker, the Philippines has administered nearly 32 million Covid-19 vaccines and over 13.5 million are fully protected against the dreaded disease.