OFW, Daughter Among First Sinopharm Vaccine Recipients In UAE
The United Arab Emirates this month became the first country to roll out the Sinopharm vaccines to the public.
An overseas Filipino worker and her daughter were among the first to be inoculated with the vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) developed by China’s Sinopharm in Dubai.
Therese, who has been working in the United Arab Emirates for 10 years now, was among the staff members of a five-star hotel who were vaccinated against (COVID-19).
“My immediate boss was vaccinated, so it was mandatory that we also get the vaccine here at the hotel. I am the only Filipino who got it here from my work so far… We had 30 positive cases about two weeks ago, and they have remained in quarantine,” Therese, who requested anonymity, told The Philippine STAR on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
The 30 infected patients are workers in the same hotel. “That’s the most number of cases since the onset of the pandemic,” she said.
Getting the vaccine gave Therese confidence in doing her job that entails handling of tourists coming from different parts of the world.
“I thought I was already knocked out because one person who tested positive also cleaned my house on the morning of Dec. 18. But a day before that, I got a negative test already. I just cannot stop worrying,” she admitted.
Fortunately, she and her daughter tested negative for the virus. “Thank God,” she said.
With the vaccine, Therese thinks she now has some form of protection against COVID-19. The same goes for her teenage daughter Myla, who also got inoculated.
“I have to take my daughter with me for the vaccine because otherwise, it will be useless if I go and she doesn’t. We are aiming for herd immunity and eventually, it will be mandatory in the UAE because it would be free,” Therese said.
Therese, who would have spent the holidays with her family in Manila if there was no pandemic, said her employer, the human resources manager, IT manager and herself got their first shot on Dec. 26 for free from a nearby emirate because they have to pay in Dubai . The second shot will be administered after 21 days or on Jan. 16.
The Dubai emirate has started the rollout of the vaccines developed by Sinopharm of China and Pfizer Inc. of the United States.
“We have two choices, either Sinopharm or Pfizer. Those who wish to avail of Sinopharm can simply walk in, but for those who want to get Pfizer, it is done by appointment and on priority basis,” she said.
“We are scheduling the team to go (for vaccination) after the new year. We are currently busy at the hotel… we are short of staff since 30 remain under isolation,” she added. “The team is on quarantine. The severe cases are monitored and collected by the Dubai Health Authority if symptoms are aggravated.”
Therese confessed she herself is vulnerable to getting infected because her daily tasks deals with dealing with hotel guests. “We have guests who test positive… so they infect the drivers and staff coming from other departments,” she said.
She lamented that there are still positive cases despite the stringent measures undertaken by the hotel in handling their guests. Since the lockdown, they have started to operate but only at a maximum of 50 percent capacity.
The hotel has 220 staff members. “We are susceptible to getting infected because we deal with tourists,” she said.
As part of their protection measures at the hotel, Therese said they check the temperature of people at all entrances and got social distance markers. They also wear personal protective equipment that are provided by the hotel management to its staff.
Rooms are also left vacant for 48 hours after occupancy, and cleaned thoroughly before new guests check in. “Every two weeks, the staff members are also rotated and sent for COVID-19 testing,” Therese said, adding anyone who had contact with a person positive for COVID-19 is immediately quarantined.
As for the 30 infected staff members who are of different nationalities, they are allocated individual rooms in a building in their facility and are not allowed interaction with anybody. “Food is delivered to their doors. This weekend, they will be done with their 14-day quarantine but we will send them for tests…they can return to their posts if they get negative results,” she said.
Majority of the 30 who were isolated were asymptomatic while a few have some mild symptoms.
On Thursday, China approved its first COVID-19 vaccine for general public use on Thursday, Dec. 31, a shot developed by an affiliate of state-backed pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm.
The conditional approval, announced by the National Medical Products Administration, was given as the UAE this month became the first country to roll out the vaccine to the public, and as Pakistan announced a 1.2 million dose purchase deal with the Chinese drugmaker.
PSG chief must be summoned
Meanwhile, Presidential Security Group (PSG) commander Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, should appear before the Senate Committee of the Whole that will look into the vaccine procurement and mass inoculation plan in the country in January, according to Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon on Thursday, Dec. 31.
Durante admitted that some of his people “independently” inoculated themselves with unregistered COVID-19 vaccines in September. It was Duterte who revealed on Dec. 26 that the brand of the vaccine used was Sinopharm.
Drilon said Durante should shed light on this issue. “The most important ‘who’ and ‘how’ of the story remains a mystery. The PSG commander is deliberately withholding the basic questions of who and how from the public.”
Durante took "full responsibility" for the administration of the unregistered vaccine to his members, admitting that they did the vaccination by themselves and without the knowledge of President Duterte or any other agency.
“All they give to the public are alibis, excuses and lies. There is more to it that will be revealed to the committee once Brig. Gen. Durante appears in our hearing. The Senate must summon the PSG commander,” he said.
“Who else was involved? How did unregistered COVID-19 vaccines enter the country? Who imported it from China?” he added.
Drilon expressed support to the probe of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) into the issue as ordered by Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra.
“Laws appear to have been violated. The DOJ and the NBI are mandated by law to investigate. No one is above the law. The rule of law must be the rule, rather than an exception,” said Drilon.
The former justice secretary had earlier said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Act or Republic Act (RA) No. 3720, as amended by RA 9711, prohibits the “manufacture, importation, exportation, sale, offering for sale, distribution, transfer, non-consumer use, promotion, advertising, or sponsorship of any health product that is adulterated, unregistered or misbranded or any health product.”
The FDA and Bureau of Customs are also investigating the matter.
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