Covid-19 Info Drive

COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2
INFO DRIVE
Froilan Jan S. Macapil, RN, LPT
WHAT IS A PANDEMIC?
Pandemic is defined as “an outbreak of a

disease that occurs over a wide
geographical area and affects an
exceptionally high proportion of the
population,” or as defined by the World
Health Organization (WHO), “is the
worldwide spread of a new disease.
SARS-Cov-2 VS. Covid 19
What’s the difference?
As detailed by the World Health

Organization (WHO), there are two official
names for this pathogen – COVID-19
refers to the coronavirus disease, while
severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is used when
referring to the virus itself
First Three Covid-19 Cases in the Philippines
COVID-19 & VACCINATION WORLDWIDE DATA AS OF
NOVEMBER 20, 2021
COVID-19 MYTH BUSTERS!
Vaccinated people will
eventually become zombies
NO!
STOP MISINFORMATION, CHECK SOURCES, THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK
1. Clean your hands often
2. Cough or sneeze in your bent

elbow - not your hands!
3. Avoid touching your eyes,

nose and mouth
4. Limit social gatherings and

time spent in crowded places
5. Avoid close contact with

someone who is sick
6. Clean and disinfect frequently

touched objects and surfaces
The importance of
handwashing and frequent hand
sanitation. Fomites or
inanimate objects that harbors
pathogens can be transferred
from surface to people through
contaminated hands and other
parts of the body that touches
the fomite.
Handwashing and proper hand

sanitation can drastically
decrease the chances of
passing on the pathogens.
Most common symptoms:
● fever
● cough
● tiredness
● loss of taste or smell
Less common symptoms:

● sore throat
● headache
● aches and pains
● diarrhoea
● a rash on skin, or
discolouration of fingers or
toes
● red or irritated eyes
Serious symptoms:
● difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
● loss of speech or mobility, or confusion
● chest pain
Seek immediate medical attention if you have

serious symptoms. Always call before visiting your
doctor or health facility.
People with mild symptoms who are otherwise

healthy should manage their symptoms at home.
On average it takes 5–6 days from when someone

is infected with the virus for symptoms to show,
however it can take up to 14 days.
Variants of Concern
● Increase in transmissibility
or detrimental change in
COVID-19 epidemiology;
OR
● Increase in virulence or
change in clinical disease
presentation; OR
● Decrease in effectiveness
of public health and social
measures or available
diagnostics, vaccines,
therapeutics.
● with genetic changes that are predicted or known to affect virus
characteristics such as transmissibility, disease severity, immune escape,
diagnostic or therapeutic escape; AND
● Identified to cause significant community transmission or multiple COVID-19

clusters, in multiple countries with increasing relative prevalence alongside
increasing number of cases over time, or other apparent epidemiological
impacts to suggest an emerging risk to global public health.
COVID - 19 TESTS
● Antibody Test
● RT-PCR Test
● Antigen Test
The Department of Health (DOH)
recently gave Philippine Red Cross
(PRC) the green light to use saliva tests
in detecting Covid-19.
This means the cheaper and less

invasive saliva-based Covid-19 test – an
alternative to the real-time reverse
transcription-polymerase chain reaction
(RT-PCR) swab tests – can already be
offered to the public.
PRC’s saliva Covid-19 test costs P2,000

while the RT-PCR test costs around
P3,800 to P5,000.
There are no currently available FDA approved
COVID-19 test kits in the Philippines that
differentiate the antibody protection gained from
natural COVID-19 infection and the immunity from
vaccination. These kits have varying specifications
and indications independent from each other which
are helpful in specific circumstances and settings.
The complexity of the immune responses from
COVID-19 infection and COVID-19 vaccination is not
limited to the humoral response stated above as
T-cell immunity, seroconversion, asymptomatic cases
and cross reactivity reactions are to be considered in
the utilization of these test kits.
Hence, the use and interpretation of results of these

kits should be under the supervision of trained health
professionals and laboratories accredited by the
Department of Health-Research Institute for Tropical
Medicine. The FDA encourages the public to be
vigilant with the use and claims of these kits in the
market to avoid false information and undue
misconception.
SOURCE: FDA Advisory No.2021-1270

A negative COVID19 test result
doesn’t make us invincible!
● No test is perfectly
accurate 100% of the time
● Tests can miss infections

that are still incubating
● You may be infected after

taking the test
COVID-19 VACCINE FACTS
The antibodies are
like soldiers and the
castle is like our
body. These soldiers
are protecting the
castle against
known enemies of
the body. But, what
happens if there is a
presence of an
unknown enemy?
Pathogens are disease causing agents such as virus,
bacteria, fungi, protists, and parasitic worms
Pathogens can cause a variety of different diseases, with some being more severe than
others. Human bodies are nutrient-rich and can provide a pathogen with an ideal
environment in which to grow and multiply.
The severity of infections that pathogens cause will vary. Some infections may be mild, while
others can be life threatening. For example, the common cold is a mild viral infection
compared with the lethal Ebola virus disease.
Common side effects of COVID-19 vaccines
Like any vaccine, COVID-19 vaccines can cause side effects, most of
which are mild or moderate and go away within a few days on their own. As
shown in the results of clinical trials, more serious or long-lasting side
effects are possible. Vaccines are continually monitored to detect adverse
events.
Reported side effects of COVID-19 vaccines have mostly been mild to

moderate and have lasted no longer thana few days. Typical side effects
include pain at the injection site, fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain,
chills and diarrhoea. The chances of any of these side effects occurring
after vaccination differ according to the specific vaccine.
COVID-19 vaccines protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus only, so it’s still
important to keep yourself healthy and well.
Less common side effects
Upon receiving the vaccine, a person should be requested to stay for

15–30 minutes at the vaccination site so health workers are available in
case of any immediate reactions. Individuals should alert their local health
providers following vaccination if they experience any unexpected side
effects or other health events – such as side effects lasting more than
three days. Less common side effects reported for some COVID-19
vaccines have included severe allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis;
however, this reaction is extremely rare.
Serious Side Effects
● difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

● loss of speech or mobility, or confusion
● chest pain
Seek immediate medical attention if you have serious symptoms.

Always call before visiting your doctor or health facility.
People with mild symptoms who are otherwise healthy should

manage their symptoms at home.
On average it takes 5–6 days from when someone is infected with the
virus for symptoms to show, however it can take up to 14 days.
Long-term side effects
Side effects usually occur within the first few days of getting a
vaccine. Since the first mass vaccination programme started in
early December 2020, hundreds of millions of vaccine doses have
been administered.
There have been concerns about COVID-19 vaccines making

people sick with COVID-19. But none of the approved vaccines
contain the live virus that causes COVID-19, which means that
COVID-19 vaccines cannot make you sick with COVID-19.
After vaccination, it usually takes a few weeks for the body to build
immunity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. So
it’s possible a person could be infected with SARS-CoV-2 just
before or after vaccination and still get sick with COVID-19. This is
because the vaccine has not yet had enough time to provide
protection.
Experiencing side effects after getting vaccinated means the

vaccine is working and your immune system is responding as it
should. Vaccines are safe, and getting vaccinated will help protect
you against COVID-19.
In the early 1900s, polio was a worldwide disease,
paralysing hundreds of thousands of people every
year. By 1950, two effective vaccines against the
disease had been developed.
But vaccination in some parts of the world was still not

common enough to stop the spread of polio,
particularly in Africa. In the 1980s, a united worldwide
effort to eradicate polio from the planet began.
Over many years and several decades, polio

vaccination, using routine immunization visits and
mass vaccination campaigns, has taken place in all
continents. Millions of people, mostly children, have
been vaccinated and in August 2020, the African
continent was certified wild poliovirus free, joining all
other parts of the world except Pakistan and
Afghanistan, where polio has not yet been eradicated.
Safety of COVID-19 vaccines for different groups
COVID-19 vaccines have been tested in large, randomized controlled trials
that include people of a broad age range, both sexes, different ethnicities,
and those with known medical conditions. The vaccines have shown a high
level of efficacy across all populations.
Vaccines have been found to be safe and effective in people with various
underlying medical conditions that are associated with increased risk of
severe disease. These include high blood pressure; diabetes; asthma;
pulmonary, liver or kidney disease; and chronic infections that are stable and
controlled.
Those who should consult with a doctor before vaccination include people
with a compromised immune system, older people with severe frailty, people
with a history of severe allergic reaction to vaccines, people living with HIV,
and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Pregnancy
While pregnancy brings a higher risk of severe COVID-19, at present,
very little data is available to assess vaccine safety in pregnancy.
However, people at high risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus (such
as health workers), or who have a history of underlying medical
conditions that increase their risk of severe disease, may be vaccinated
during pregnancy after consultation with their health care provider.
There is no evidence that suggests vaccination would cause harm
during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding
The vaccine can be offered to those who are breastfeeding if they are
part of a group recommended for vaccination (health workers, for
example).
Quarantine - period to
monitor well-being
after being identified as
a close contact with a
person with COVID-19
Isolation - separating
people with symptoms
or confirmed COVID-19
cases

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COVID-19

Pandemic is deﬁned as “an outbreak of a

As detailed by the World Health

2. Cough or sneeze in your bent

3. Avoid touching your eyes,

4. Limit social gatherings and

5. Avoid close contact with

6. Clean and disinfect frequently

Handwashing and proper hand

Less common symptoms:

Seek immediate medical attention if you have

People with mild symptoms who are otherwise

On average it takes 5–6 days from when someone

● Identiﬁed to cause signiﬁcant community transmission or multiple COVID-19

This means the cheaper and less

PRC’s saliva Covid-19 test costs P2,000

Hence, the use and interpretation of results of these

SOURCE: FDA Advisory No.2021-1270

● Tests can miss infections

● You may be infected after

Reported side effects of COVID-19 vaccines have mostly been mild to

Less common side effects

Upon receiving the vaccine, a person should be requested to stay for

● diﬃculty breathing or shortness of breath

Seek immediate medical attention if you have serious symptoms.

People with mild symptoms who are otherwise healthy should

There have been concerns about COVID-19 vaccines making

Experiencing side effects after getting vaccinated means the

But vaccination in some parts of the world was still not

Over many years and several decades, polio

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