In May I wrote and vlogged about my experience getting my first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Because the vaccine I received was the Astra Zeneca one, I had to wait 8-12 weeks until my second dose.
Well, friends, that second dose happened last Saturday. While the scheduling was unexpected, it was very much welcome especially with the Delta variant now in local cases.
You can watch the vlog below, or scroll down for more of my written thoughts.
Every week I see more and more people on my Facebook feed getting their vaccine, and while as a population we are still vastly below the percentage needed to reopen safely I’m glad that more people are getting these lifesaving doses in their arms.
The Philippine healthcare system is still very much on the brink and overloaded, so if there’s anything I can do to ease our medical professionals’ burden I’ll happily do it. That means still masking up, keeping distance, promoting ventilation of shared spaces, and getting vaccinated when any approved vaccine is available.
If you doubt COVID vaccine effectiveness at this point, I don’t think I can say anything that can sway you. But for me, having read the peer-reviewed Phase 3 studies and the real-world studies on how these vaccines have reduced disease severity and mortality in those infected, I’d rather roll the dice on the vaccinated side of the fence.
I also don’t want the Philippines to become the incubator for the next variant; every person infected is another chance for the virus to mutate something that makes it more effective at spreading. (While the Delta variant has not yet been shown to be more fatal, because it can infect more people faster that increases the likelihood one of these people infected can get hospitalised etc.) As a Filipino and also a citizen of the world, I feel it’s my duty to do these things.
We are all connected, and our individual decisions can impact the health of the whole. I’m hoping that as one of the many Filipinos who have chosen this path we can benefit our country and the world and overcome this pandemic.
