A Filipino nurse in the United Kingdom who was among the first to be vaccinated against COVID-19 said Sunday the vaccine was safe and properly researched.
Leo Quijano, a nurse in Brighton, said he was inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine of Pfizer and BioNTech last Wednesday, the second day of the jab rollout in the UK.
He said two other Filipinos received the vaccine ahead of him.
Quijano said he experienced mild fever and mild muscle pain just like the side effect of any other vaccine, and took two days off work.
"I did not feel anything during the jab. I stayed for 10 minutes to check if there was an immediate reaction. There was none. So I returned to work until 8 p.m. When I woke up the next day, the injection site felt heavy and was sore, which is a very common side effect, according to the leaflet," Quijano told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.
"Don't be scared because the vaccine has been tested, it’s been researched, experimented. Many here have also been inoculated,” he said.
Quijano said those who reportedly experienced allergic reactions after receiving the vaccine "have a history of allergy."
He is due for a second dose of the vaccine on Dec. 30 as there is a minimum of 21 days or three weeks in between jabs.
"There’s a proper screening before the vaccination. So far, nothing is happening to me aside from the mild side effects I've experienced," Quijano said.
He urged those who have been inoculated to keep observing minimum health protocols.
"There's no assurance because what they said, even seven days after the second injection, you’re not fully protected. So I believe we still need to keep the prevention that we're doing)," Quijano said.
"Even though you've been vaccinated, probably the health measures are more likely to carry on… Prevention, prevention, prevention," stressed the nurse who got infected with COVID-19 in June but has recovered.