Unvaxxed people more likely to get coronavirus variants –expert

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Edsel Salvana on Thursday said that unvaccinated people have a higher chance of developing new variants of COVID-19.

Interviewed on Dobol B TV, Salvana pointed out that unvaccinated people are shedding more viral loads due to rapid replication of the virus, compared to those vaccinated.

“Dahil mas mabilis ang replication ng virus sa isang taong unvaccinated, mas mataas yung tsansa na maglabas sila ng mga mutation at mga bagong variant,” he said.

(Because of the fast replication of the virus in an unvaccinated person, the chance of yielding new mutations and variants is higher.)

In a separate interview on Super Radyo dzBB, National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 medical adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa said there is still high vaccine hesitancy especially among the lower socio-economic class.

“Mataaas pa rin ang vaccine hesitancy lalo na sa ating  lower socio-economic classes syempre hindi mas accesible ang information sa kanila,” he said.

(Vaccine hesitancy is still high especial in lower socio-ecomic classes, of course they have less access to information.)

The government has imposed restrictions against unvaccinated people following the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.

Under Alert Level 3, local government units and the police are enforcing restrictions on the mobility of unvaccinated people, who are not allowed to go outside except for availing essential goods and services.

The Department of Transportation issued Department Order No. 2022-001 that limits access to public transportation in NCR only to fully vaccinated individuals while the region is under Alert Level 3 or higher.

These measures have been implemented in compliance with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte. —LBG, GMA News