Remembering the dead from Covid-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases

Debunking antivaxxer claims and understanding why vaccines are important

- DR. EDSEL MAURICE T. SALVANA

Vaccination is one of the most successful public health interventions in history. Over the last 50 years, vaccines have saved over 154 million lives and continue to save over four million lives yearly. Most of these lives that were saved were those of children who would otherwise have succumbed to measles, polio, pertussis, and other preventable illnesses. Recently, the power of vaccines was demonstrated by their effect on the Covid-19 pandemic. Without Covid-19 vaccines, an additional 2.5 million deaths would have occurred directly from SARS-CoV-2, not to mention the added damage from a prolonged period prior to normalization without an effective vaccine.

It is unfortunate that Covid-19 vaccines came too late for the over seven million officially recorded deaths from the pandemic. True estimates of deaths from Covid-19 are anywhere from 15 to 20 million people, not including the indirect premature deaths it caused among those who developed complications. Among these deaths were many doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers who, despite the risk, bravely took care of patients knowing we had no effective treatment to offer if they themselves got sick. Some of these people were my colleagues, teachers, and friends. Three of my medical school professors, Dr. Sally Gatchalian, Dr. Raul Jara, and Dr. Ricardo Salonga, were among the fatalities. Until now, some healthcare workers have been unable to return to work due to long Covid-19.