THE Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) revealed that 38 among 69 of their hospital personnel who tested positive for Sars- CoV-2 as of July 26 are fully vaccinated.
SPMC Head Dr. Ricardo Audan said these personnel are composed of nurses, doctors, and medical technologists.
Based on the vaccination status of the 38 personnel, two workers were vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, 35 workers were fully vaccinated with Sinovac, and one with Pfizer.
Audan, however, clarified that this does not mean that Sinovac is not an effective vaccine.
“Medyo marami ang 35 [personnel] sa Sinovac (Many workers, 35 of them, were vaccinated with Sinovac), but it’s not because of weak ang Sinovac,” he said in a virtual presser.
“It’s because marami ang Sinovac na na-accommodate namin sa mga employees (many of workers were accommodated with the Sinovac vaccine) compared to Pfizer and AstraZeneca,” he added.
He said all of the vaccinated employees who tested positive for Covid-19 only experienced mild symptoms.
“If you are vaccinated, talagang mild lang talaga sila (you will definitely experience mild symptoms),” the SPMC head said.
Audan had repeatedly encouraged not only the SPMC workers but also the public to get the Covid-19 vaccine once it is their turn for added protection against the Covid-19 virus.
Overall, Audan said there have been a total of 857 SPMC personnel who tested positive for coronavirus from March 25, 2020 until July 26, 2021.
Out of that number, 829 were already discharged, 23 are still admitted, and five succumbed to the virus.
More than a year since the Covid-19 pandemic, Audan admitted that there are still many of their personnel who resigned.
But this is not solely due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, as some are scouting for higher-paying jobs.
“For the record, meron naga-resign (there are those who resign), but definitely not because of Covid[-19 but] because of greener pasture, yung mga (some have) pending application abroad,” Audan said.
He said they already increased the salary of their job contracts, resulting in an increasing number of job applicants. He, however, said they are still short of nurses, and nursing attendants.
