MANILA – The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine does not give an individual an immediate immunity from the virus, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.
Those who were injected with the vaccine according to Sec. Eric Domingo, are still at risk of contracting the virus since it will take weeks for antibodies to develop.
“You do not have COVID-19 protection in the first few weeks after you are injected. That is the time that your immune system is trying to develop,” Domingo said on Thursday.
“Your risk of developing COVID-19, getting the illness, and getting severe illness and possibly dying from it is the same as a non-vaccinated person,” he added.
National Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee (NAEFIC) vice chairman Dr. Rommel Lobo said it could be the case for the 47-year-old health worker who succumbed to COVID-19 after receiving Sinovac BioNTech’s shot.
Lobo said the health worker passed the screening for vaccine inoculation on March 4 but could have an exposure to someone who is COVID-19 positive prior or after her inoculation.
The health worker was tested positive again on March 8 and was admitted to the hospital two days after. She died due to COVID-19 on March 13.
Lobo explained that the health worker, who tested and recovered from COVID-19 in 2020, have comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and bronchial asthma that could put her at risk for the virus.
“The comorbidities present in this patient put her at risk for COVID-19 disease,” Lobo said. “The vaccine does not cause COVID-19 because it’s an inactivated vaccine.”/PN
