Public warned against vaccine mixing

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – The Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center-Task Force (EOC-TF) is warning the public against getting inoculated by different COVID-19 vaccine brands.

In a statement Wednesday, the EOC said using different vaccine brands for the first and second doses has not been proven to give protection against the coronavirus disease, as there is no scientific data supporting this.

“The Department of Health (DOH) has not issued any advisory or statement affirming the safety of being inoculated with two different brands of COVID-19 vaccines,” the EOC-TF added.

City Administrator Em Ang, EOC executive director, urged the public not to risk their health by “mixing the brands.”

“Mixing of brands has never been proven safe and effective yet. So, when it comes to your health, always choose what is safe,” Ang said during the EOC-TF’s daily huddle Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Contact Tracing Cluster head Dr. Rosalie Deocampo reiterated that the best vaccine is one that is available at hand.

Deocampo said fully vaccinated Bacolodnons only experienced mild symptoms and were even asymptomatic when they contracted COVID-19.

These individuals were administered with two doses of the same brand of vaccines, she added.

It is important also to note that an individual is considered “fully vaccinated” two weeks after receiving the second dose, she stressed.

“So far, no fully vaccinated Bacolodnon ever had COVID-19 severe symptoms,” she said.

Deocampo also encouraged the public to get vaccinated, as she reiterated that medical doctors in Bacolod were the ones who first got injected with the Sinovac vaccine when its supply arrived in the city last March.