The best vaccine against COVID-19 is the one which is available, according to Mr. Dwight Benedict V. Faustino, Chief Rehab Officer and Chief Information Officer, CareOne/CareServices/HealthBridge Management (USA). Mr. Faustino discussed various information about coronavirus last April 17, 2021 in his lecture entitled “SARS CoV-2 Anatomy, Infection Control and Industry Updates”. This lecture was in cooperation with the Continuing Education and Training Division (CETD) of the School of Environmental Science and Management-University of the Philippines Los Baños (SESAM-UPLB).

Worldwide, Coronavirus has infected 141 million, with more than 3 million deaths. The United States has 31.7 million infections, with more than 567,000 deaths. While in the Philippines, there are more than 936,000 infections, with 15,960 deaths.

Mr. Faustino, a US-based licensed physical therapist, discussed the different symptoms of the disease. He noted that 70-90% who are symptomatic patients had fever, while 60-86% experienced dry cough. Aside from respiratory insufficiency, He also noted additional complications such as cardiac issues and stroke.

He added that aside from hand washing and sanitizing, the proper wearing of face mask is crucial and it must be worn at all times. Sanitizing rooms must also be done properly and regularly, from high dusting, spot cleaning, bathroom cleaning, waste collection, floor dust mopping to floor wet mapping. Further, he said distancing of personnel within hallways must be enforced to reduce close contacts and markings must be placed on the floor to avoid crowding.

Mr. Faustino said that in the US, the vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson are now being used. At present, the US already inoculated more than 200 million Americans or 25% of the population. Sinovac, which is the current available vaccine in the Philippines, is not used in the US, according to Mr. Faustino. “I am not too aware about Sinovac, but I can see China going back to normal already, so it means it’s working” Mr. Faustino added.

However, the new variants are also complicating the vaccine efforts, said Mr. Faustino, as four coronavirus variants such as the UK, Brazil, South African and Denmark variants will test the vaccines’ efficacy. 

Before he ended his presentation, Mr. Faustino reminded the attendees to always wear a mask, stay six feet apart, avoid crowds and get vaccinated when available.