OCTA Research Fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco on Wednesday expressed fears that the AstraZeneca vaccines expected to be delivered to the country today, Thursday, may have diminished efficacy against the B1351 (South Africa) Covid-19 variant, a development which he described as “most concerning.”
In an online forum, Fr. Austriaco urged the Department of Health (DOH) and the local government of Pasay to prevent the spread of the South Africa variant, saying it may sharply reduce the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccines from 70 percent to 10 percent.
“If we do not eliminate the B1351 variant in the Philippines, then the 17 million doses of AstraZeneca that we have bought will be ineffective,” Fr. Austriaco cautioned.
He stressed, however, that there is still a window to eliminate the B1351 from circulation.
“I am hoping that Pasay can contain the spread. If the LGU [local government unit] can eliminate the B1351, then we are safe. Otherwise, we will have to talk about other options,” Fr. Austriaco said.
He added, “We would have to model the spread of the variants in the NCR [National Capital Region], even as he lamented that it is very challenging to manage the Covid-19 because we do not have adequate genome surveillance to truly determine the extent of the variants in the population.”
“But estimates [indicate] that it will take 6 to 8 weeks for variants to become dominant. This is based on the experience of other countries in the world,” he said.
Fr. Austriaco also stressed that an additional booster shot of AstraZeneca is needed to fight off the Covid-19 variant first found in South Africa, “This means a person will need three doses of AstraZeneca vaccines instead of the normal two doses.”
Containment measures
Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano said they are working overtime to contain the South Africa variant from spreading after it was detected in the city.
The three patients that were identified by the DOH, she said, have already recovered.
“Subalit ganun pa man ay pag-ibayuhin pa rin natin ang ating ginagawang pag-iingat at pagsasagawa ng ating daily EMI, habit para makatiyak tayo na hindi tayo madadapuan ng sakit na ito [Despite that, we should remain vigilant and strictly observe EMI habit, to make sure that we will not contract the virus],” Rubiano said in a television interview. EMI stands for “Ensure to wash your hands, Mask is a must. Implement physical distancing.”
Currently, 77 barangays are placed under localized lockdown, one barangay in total lockdown and only 210 households are under localized community quarantine.
As of March 3, 8,203 people were infected in the city. Of the number, 521 active are cases, 7,466 have recovered but claimed the lives of 216 people.
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