EOC urges public to continue following health protocols even after vaccination

3 vaccinated Cebu City residents test positive to COVID-19

A photo of COVID-19 vaccination at the SM Seaside City Cebu. | file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) reminds the public that those inoculated with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine should not lower their guards.

Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementor of the EOC, told CDN Digital that they monitored the vaccine status of all individuals who tested positive to the COVID-19 during their regular contact tracing.

On June 1, 2021, they identified one individual out of 24 individuals they have traced who is fully vaccinated and another two individuals who are partially vaccinated.

All three individuals are asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic.

Garganera said this proves that although the vaccines will keep an individual from getting the severe form of COVID-19 and prevent hospitalization, it cannot stop the infection.

In fact, even vaccinated individuals can remain carriers of the virus and can still spread the virus to other people.

This is why the EOC reminds the vaccinated individuals that they must keep following the health protocols even if they have been inoculated.

“The vaccine is not a substitute to the health protocols. Kinahanglan gihapon sila mag mask, mag maintain sa social distancing, and magdisinfect,” said Garganera.

The EOC will continue to study how the vaccines can protect not only the individual inoculated but also the people around them.

As of now, they do not have enough data to make a conclusion, but they are studying whether vaccinated individuals can cause less, equal, or more transmission than unvaccinated individuals.

However, the EOC notes that vaccinated individuals who tested positive to the virus are identified mostly in contact tracing and are rarely exhibiting severe symptoms.

“This is really good. Nacontrol gyod and manageable ra ang virus,” he said.

The EOC also notes that by the end of May 2021, only 12 COVID-19 related deaths were reported and the critical care occupancy rate has been at its lowest at 16.9 percent, which means that out of 923 beds, only 156 are occupied.

“We end the month with only 6 fresh cases, we will have a series of ups and downs but at a manageable level, the important thing we were able to contained it, best evidence is our mortality and critical care occupancy are relatively very low,” the councilor added.

/bmjo

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