Letran launched the "Ligtas Letran Vaccination Program."

Kylie Niechols Miranda & Tomas Franco Tagra

MARCH 15, MONDAY -- Letran conducted its vaccination awareness and lecture seminar, which was held online through Zoom, and lived in Colegio's official Facebook page. The student body, staff, and parents attended the seminar, keen on learning more about the COVID-19 vaccines coming into the country and seeing whether it is genuinely safe for mass usage.

The webinar began with a presentation from Asst. Prof. Louie Ian M. Mariano, the Director of the Research and Publication Department. His talk focused on the presentation of COVID-19 vaccination awareness survey results. The said survey was conducted from February 22 until March 1, 2021, and was composed of employees from Letran Manila and Letran Bataan. The tallied results were as follows: 376 total responses from both campuses, of which 295 (78.46%) were from the Manila Campus, while the remaining 81 respondents (21.54%) were from the Bataan Campus. All surveys were able to conduct via Google Meet and on-site. According to Asst. Prof. Mariano, through their detailed analysis of the results of the survey, 49.49% of the respondents from Letran Manila are willing to be vaccinated, while 28.40% are in agreement with Letran Bataan. What dominated the choices was the "maybe" choice, with over 53.09% of Letran Bataan's respondents choosing it, while 41.69% from Letran Manila.

Regarding their issues with the vaccine itself, both Letran Bataan and Letran Manila respondents agree that researchers took no safety shortcuts in producing the COVID-19 vaccines. Letran Bataan's respondents further agreed that for most, COVID-19 vaccines could cause mild side effects that will resolve after a few days. Lastly, they are by the fact that the vaccine does not contain a live virus strain. Letran Manila's respondents agree that the vaccine cannot change an individual's DNA and see no evidence that the vaccine causes infertility. Furthermore, both respondents in their respective campuses agreed that they are worried about the possible side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines, its safety, and its availability that may not be effective with the new strains of the virus. 29.63% of Letran Manila respondents agree that a vaccine's price must be less than Php 500, whilst 23.05% of Letran Bataan respondents agree that the price must be less than Php 1,000. Both Letran Manila and Letran Bataan's respondents recorded 47.12% and 50.62% of confidence in the vaccines. In connection to this record, the two campuses would prefer vaccines coming from the United States, second from Europe, then India, and finally, China. They have also agreed that their preferred venue of vaccination should be within a designated vaccination centre.

A noted split-up found in either campus respondents' willingness to include immediate family members for vaccination. 71.19% of Letran Manila's respondents agreed, while 54.32% of Letran Bataan respondents stated their reservations about doing so. Asst. Prof. Mariano finished his presentation with a summary of his report saying that most respondents are unsure throughout the survey. That fear is the dominant feeling upon their analysis of fake vaccines' responses, side effects, and the highly demanding prices of the COVID-19 vaccines. He also said that most employees agree on spending Php 500 to Php 2,000 for two doses of the vaccine. A total of 169 employees agreed on being vaccinated, 166 are still undecided, and 41 refuse the vaccination while further stating that the government's trust and the action should be premium.

Subsequently, Ms Maribel Capitle introduced the resource speaker Dr Maria Rhona M. Gatpandan-Bergatin, MD, MSc, an Infectious Disease Specialist at the University of Santo Tomas Hospital, to the talk proper formally. Her discussions centred towards disseminating and clarifying information regarding questions about the vaccination and the COVID-19 pandemic. In the beginning, she began by showing a model of the Swiss Cheese Respiratory Virus Pandemic Defense that shows multiple layers of cheese that, when used, can increase the strength of protection against the presence of the novel virus. The model contains steps to stop the spread of the virus. She then discussed what will happen when SARS-CoV 2, the virus that causes the COVID-19, enters the body. The virus has the risk of infiltrating an individual's body when an infected person speaks, sneezes or coughs in front of an uninfected person, especially if one or both of them are not wearing masks. Different factors influence how the body responds to viruses, namely: intrinsic factors, host factors from an individual's parents, extrinsic, behavioural, nutritional, environmental, vaccine factors and administration of vaccines.

Moreover, Dr Bergatin discussed three different approaches on how laboratories make the vaccines and what type of approach certain approved vaccines have used, including vaccines already available in the Philippines. These approaches include utilizing a whole virus or a bacterium because vaccines use parts of a virus that trigger the immune system, and some vaccines use only the genetic material. Components of a vaccine were also talked about as they are essential in knowing the efficacy of it. Such as the antigen, which is responsible for generating an immune response. Next, the components of a vaccine also include preservatives to avoid contamination. On the other hand, the surfactants keep all the other ingredients together. An adjuvant which can improve the immune response of the vaccine, stabilizers that prevent chemical reactions from occurring in the vaccine, residuals which are tiny amounts of various substances used during the manufacturing of the vaccine, and diluent, a liquid used to dilute the vaccine for a valid consecration before using it.

After manufacturing the vaccine, questions regarding its safety and its efficacy arises. In line with this, Dr Bergatin talked about how the World Health Organization provided everyone with information on how vaccines went to ensure safe use. Each vaccine undergoing development must go through screening and evaluation. Initially, the testing begins with animals during the pre-clinical trial. Safety and efficacy are two things they need to ensure before proceeding to a clinical trial. She emphasized that among the two, safety comes first before efficacy. When both become assured, the manufacturers may proceed to the Phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine. They typically recruit young and healthy individuals with a population of around tens to hundreds. Followed by the second phase of the clinical trial conducted once there is an assurance in the safety and efficacy. In this phase, individuals with the same characteristics receive the vaccines; that is why there are many ongoing trials in this phase to assess the different sets of individuals' responses.

Also, they have a comparator group composed of people who have not received the vaccine to compare if there is a difference between the two. The Phase 3 clinical trial involves thousands of volunteers. At this phase, they conduct the trial simultaneously in larger groups of people in different countries and comparator groups are still present. She also highlighted that the clinical trial could stop if there have been questions regarding safety during any phases—moreover, the WHO gives the green light of approval that the vaccines are ready to be used.

Furthermore, based on the COVID-19 vaccine tracker of March 12, 2021, Dr Bergatin showed 96 vaccine candidates and 266 ongoing clinical trials, but only 12 vaccines have obtained approval. "We need to be vaccinated because a vaccine protects an individual," she said while explaining the importance of receiving vaccines. "When you receive a vaccine, and many individuals in that community also received vaccines, they can also protect other individuals whose vaccination is not possible," the speaker added. This means individuals who cannot receive the vaccination, such as individuals who have a weak immune system and children who are not part of the vaccine trials, will be partially protected. There are at least 70% of individuals should be immune to transmit infections to susceptible individuals can be halted. Additionally, she explained that the vaccines' purpose is to prevent the onset of severe illness. With vaccination from severe illnesses, individuals will only experience mild illnesses.

Dr Bergatin also said, “No vaccine is 100% free from side effects.” This is because vaccines have the characteristics of reactogenicity, which typically manifest after getting one. Towards the end of her discussion, she explained that receiving vaccination protects the individual and the people around them and, eventually, the community.

Afterwards, to address the audience's lingering questions, the program proceeded with an open forum moderated by Dr Nikko Aldrich Castillo, the School Physician and Clinic Head. One of the questions asked was whether the vaccine is a cure or prevention, which he answered, “It is only preventive.” Dr Bergatin clarified that should not look into vaccinations as a cure but rather a preventive measure. Another question was, how can those sceptical people receive the vaccine, primarily because of the Dengvaxia controversy, be persuaded to receive the vaccine. “We cannot persuade them. It will always be a choice for everyone. Kaya lang po magkaiba ang mekanismo ng Dengue, magkaiba po ang mekanismo ng COVID,” she answered. “Our faith should always be bigger than our fear,” she added, explaining that when one ruled by fear, he or she cannot move accordingly, for hesitations will always be present. Furthermore, she said that everyone should always base this on Science and not on fake news.

To formally end the education seminar, Rev. Fr. Clarence Victor C. Marquez, O.P, Rector and President, delivered his closing remarks. He described how the Colegio is doing its part in helping and contributing to solving the ongoing problem that affects everyone. “Bahagi ng mas malaki at mas malawak na adhikain ang Ligtas Letran.” he said, saying that this is only the beginning. Soon, there will be other cures and solutions to the crisis that everyone is facing.

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