By Carmen Dulguime

At 54, I can think of so many medical excuses to turn down the offer to get inoculated. I am pre-diabetic, anemic and hypertensive. I have also been diagnosed with cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), which makes me a candidate for heart failure. Not to mention, my thoracic spine is drying out quickly from all those physical activities I’ve been doing since I learned how to walk.

I have yet to ask my doctor if I have the green light to go for it, but I have decided at this point that vaccination will help me protect myself and my loved ones. As I scoured the Internet for legitimate sources on vaccine information, I came across a virtual townhall on COVID-19 vaccine deployment presented by the Department of Health (DOH) to the Philippine Nurses Association (one of a series). There were technical details that my lay brain can barely digest, but the simplified explanations did a good job of helping me say YES to vaccination.

The Crowned Enemy vs Our Body’s Defense System

In any battle, it helps to know who your enemy is, and how they act.  It is in knowing the enemy that we can at least make our own plan of counterattack and have a better chance at winning the war.

In the case of COVID-19, we all know by now what the coronavirus looks like, and how it was named thus. Its behavior is not unique, multiplying as it attacks our healthy cells once it gets inside our body. However, it somehow spreads with more ease and its infection is more serious for some of its victims compared with similar viruses and bacteria.

The “crown” or spike is actually protein, which attaches itself to a host cell inside the human body. Once inside, the virus recreates proteins to multiply. They get out of the host cell and start wreaking havoc to infect the body.

Vaccines to the rescue

Most of us have been praying for a vaccine so we can all get on with our rebooted lives already; but now that it’s here, we suddenly find ourselves asking if it’s a good idea. That’s because we believe that vaccines usually take years of research and tests before they are rolled out; which begs the question: how reliable are these vaccines?

But we’re not living in a time where things are “as usual”. So it’s really in our best interest to listen to what experts have to say about this batch of vaccines that are already being given in some parts of the world, and will soon be here in the Philippines.

But we’re not living in a time where things are “as usual”.

So it’s really in our best interest to listen to what experts have to say about this batch of vaccines that are already being given in some parts of the world, and will soon be here in the Philippines.

According to Dr. Nina G. Gloriani, MD, PhD, of the DOST-PCHRD Vaccine Expert Panel, the ideal vaccine has the following qualities:

• Safe
• Immunogenic (can induce the appropriate immune response)
• Can provide long lasting immunity
• Can protect against disease
• Stable in field conditions
• Preferably administered in a single dose (especially in mass immunization)
• Affordable and accessible to all who need them

While these are mostly self-explanatory, it helps to know that at least here in the Philippines, there are several groups working together to assure that the vaccines that will be allowed in the country have these qualities. Some of these groups are from DOH, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and members of the private sector.

As of this writing, an initial batch of vaccines is expected to be available by February. Do check the DOH website or the news from legitimate sources regularly for updates.

How vaccines work

In explaining how vaccines work, Dr. Marion A. Kwek, MD, FPCP, FPSMID and Chair of the Health Education Committee of PSMID, said it plainly: “Parang nagte-training yung katawan natin. We are being taught how to identify an organism and how to fight back.”

“Parang nagte-training yung katawan natin.

We are being taught how to identify an organism and how to fight back.”

When coronavirus attacks, our body’s immune system uses our red and white blood cells to accomplish specific missions: red for providing oxygen to our body’s tissues and organs, and white to do the actual fight against infection. The thing is, these cells need time – like days or even weeks – before they can execute a solid defense against a new pathogen like COVID- 19 (or any new variant, for that matter). Our cells need to go through a process first: learn about this new enemy, remember what it learned, before being able to know how to fight back the moment they cross paths again.

With vaccines, the “training” is done using a specific type of antigen to initiate the appropriate immune response. During this training, the vaccine imitates the virus and creates antibodies. These antibodies are then stored in memory cells, then do the actual protection against infection the next time they see a pathogen. The memory cells can continuously watch out for these virulent pathogens for months or years to provide immunity.

The body will react to the vaccine in different ways the second it enters our blood stream. The common side effects include headache, fever and fatigue. There have also been reports of allergic reactions (breathing difficulty, rashes, etc.), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and appearance of lymph nodes in the injected area.

“Vaccine components would trigger our body to respond, so our body would release all sorts of chemicals, proteins, cytokines, and when you inject this, definitely there is something that would happen in terms of local injury and local symptoms. We expect that there would be some redness, some swelling, and pain after receiving a vaccine,” says Dr. Kwek.

Just like any other vaccine used for other illnesses, one may experience severe or life-threatening reaction after administration. Possible, but rare.

Why we need to get vaccinated

We are all exposed to the virus one way or another, which is why we are taking precautions with masks, face shields, handwashing, disinfection, physical distancing and staying home as much as possible. These are what we can do externally, and vaccines can take care of what happens inside our body.

“From the time you are exposed to an infectious agent, for someone who did not receive a vaccine, it takes a while before your body would develop an immune response. And in contrast to someone who has received a vaccine, because you were already able to train your body to recognize these pathogens, you are able to mount a faster immune response as if you were already infected for the first time,” Dr. Kwek explains.

Vaccination is not mandatory, but it is, in a sense, a responsibility. Those who get vaccinated indirectly help protect the vulnerable among us, like babies and the critically ill. When majority of the people within a community are already immune, we lessen the chance of spreading the virus infection. This is what is referred to as “herd” or “population” immunity. To achieve this, at least a third of the population must be vaccinated.

Vaccination is not mandatory, but it is, in a sense, a responsibility.

Those who get vaccinated indirectly help protect the vulnerable among us, like babies and the critically ill.

For your own peace of mind, it is best to seek your doctor’s advice before you go through the vaccination. In my case, while I have already decided to take it, I would need my cardiologist and internist to tell me that my body can take it.

This is not a case of getting caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. This is really just an invitation for discernment: are you willing to fight back with a vaccine, or would you keep taking the risk of contracting COVID? Remember, though, that the virus is mutating and might continue to do so. In the end, I will have to agree with Dr. Kwek when she said, “I would rather have some discomfort (from vaccine side effects) than get COVID infection.” Hear! Hear!

Resources:

Johns Hopkins Medicine

Philippine Nurses Association Townhall, January 16, 2021

The Race for Coronavirus Vaccines

Understanding how COVID-19 vaccines work

Department of Health

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