ROLLOUT. Manila residents wait in line for the rollout of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at the Manila Prince Hotel in Ermita on Tuesday (May 18, 2021). Malacañang on Wednesday (June 30, 2021) thumbed down the antibody testing after individuals get vaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). (PNA file photo by Avito C. Dalan)
MANILA – Malacañang on Wednesday thumbed down the antibody testing after individuals get vaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
“Again, it’s a medical and scientific question,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press conference when quizzed if the Palace encourages the use of antibody tests to know whether a vaccinated individual already has Covid-19 antibodies.
While Roque acknowledged the amount of antibodies will be determined through an antibody test, he said this will not give any individual a guarantee that they will no longer catch Covid-19.
“So, you know, you can measure antibodies but knowing that you have antibodies is not a guarantee you will no longer have the disease,” he said.
The Department of Health has urged the public not to take an antibody test after the Covid-19 vaccination to check their level of protection from the coronavirus.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on June 2 said a negative antibody test “does not mean that the Covid-19 vaccine did not work.”
Vergeire also guaranteed that all vaccines being administered in the country have undergone a “rigorous” regulator process to ensure that they are “safe and effective” against Covid-19.
She likewise reminded vaccinated individuals to continue observing the minimum public health standards to keep them safe against Covid-19.
Health experts, during the recent House of Representatives health committee hearing, also stressed that antibody testing may not be the best way to measure the level of protection of a vaccinated person.
Experts also warned that testing for antibodies may only sow confusion.
As of June 27, a total of 10,065,414 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered nationwide.
Around 7,538,128 individuals have received the first Covid-19 vaccine shot, while the remaining 2,527,286 have been fully vaccinated. (PNA)
