COVID-19 variants and vaccination efforts

by Henry Buzar March 25, 2021 The world is in dilemma with the evolving coronavirus mutations or variants and once again threaten the abatin...

by Henry Buzar
March 25, 2021







The world is in dilemma with the evolving coronavirus mutations or variants and once again threaten the abating number of infections that reached its lowest number just the start of January this year unless all eligible populace is inoculated.

Three South African variant cases out of the six known variants were traced in Pasay City where a spiked of case transmission was observed. The Philippines also recorded 87 cases of the UK variant.



UP-OCTA suspects that NCR reproduction number of 1.5 is triggered by these variants and suggested not giving these mutations window of opportunity to surge by stepping up vaccination of all exposed heath workers, front liners, and all eligible populace while there are still lulls in hospital admittance.

One very dangerous variant is P.1, mind you not P.I. According to NY Times, it originated in Brazil rising in the Amazonian city of Manaus which scientists believed had reached herd immunity by April of last year. By November, however, P.1 appeared in Manaus causing a record-breaking surge of covid-19. Scientists found out that the contagiousness rate of this variant is between 1.4 to 2.2 times more transmissible than other lineages of corona-virus.



More troubling, according to these scientists was the fact that it also gained the ability to infect people who had immunity from past Covid-19 infections. P.1 is now spreading across Brazil and has been found in 24 countries including the States of Alaska, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, and Oklahoma in United States.

Nuno Faria, a virologist at Imperial College London who helped lead much of the new research, said: “The ultimate message is that you need to step up all the vaccination efforts as soon as possible,” he said. “You need to be one step ahead of the virus.”



Compounding this is the monopolization of 1st World Countries of the drug supply that the WB is preparing emergency financing to help 30 poor African countries secure vaccines.

Last week the African Union's disease control body said the continental bloc was backing calls for drugmakers to waive some intellectual property rights on vaccines to speed up their roll-out to poorer countries.

Meanwhile, If we Filipinos continue to feign ignorance of the danger of these covid-19 variants may be due to superstitious beliefs, lack of trust in the vaccines, religious undertones, political orientation, and other unscientific reasons, then GOD forbids, that the first wave of these variants or the 2nd wave of the pandemic may pressure us again to the unending wearing of face-masks and face-shields or worst prolonged lockdown then it will be suicidal for anyone to contract this deadly virus that shall once again threaten us, our loved ones and our freedom.