In this March 2021 photo, people wait for their turn to be vaccinated in Cebu City. | file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines –The Cebu City Emergency Operations Office (EOC) said that based on their one-week data of contact tracing, fully vaccinated individuals make up at least 6 percent of the cases that turn positive for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Since May 25, 2021, there has been a total 15 COVID-19 positive patients, swabbed through contact tracing, who have received COVID 19 vaccines either fully vaccinated or partially vaccinated, the EOC revealed.
The percentage for partially vaccinated individuals is only at 2 percent.
Of the 15 COVID 19 positive patients who have been vaccinated at least 9 were asymptomatic and 6 were symptomatic. All 6 symptomatic individuals had mild symptoms and none had moderate nor serve symptoms.
Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementor of the EOC said that the data shows that vaccines do not offer 100 percent protection from COVID-19 infection.
It does, however, provide 100 percent protection from severe illness or death from COVID-19.
“There are still no date that shows how well vaccines prevent vaccinated positive individuals from spreading the virus to others. For these reasons, people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should be taking precautions, like wearing a mask, social distancing, and frequent hand-washing,” said Garganera.
In a previous statement, the EOC has asked the vaccinated individuals to keep following the health protocols even after completing vaccination.
READ: EOC urges public to continue following health protocols even after vaccination
Until herd immunity is achieved in the city, the public must remain vigilant even after getting vaccinated.
Although less likely to get sick, vaccinated individuals infected with the virus still has a chance to spread the virus to other people, which is why they must be responsible for their actions.
As of now, there are 40,000 individuals vaccinated in Cebu City, still far from the target of 70 percent of the city’s population. /rcg