REVEILLE: END OF 2020

By Fatima Riesa A. Karay

On November 9, 2020, Pfizer a U.S pharmaceutical giant and its German partner BioNTech published their first result which they claim offers 90% percent of protection as shown in the trials made in US, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and Turkey seven days after the second dose as each person needs two doses according to Pfizer. However, a limited number of people will only get vaccinated this year and each country is deciding on who to prioritize. The vaccine had only started rolling out to ASEAN countries and Philippines is aiming to start the vaccination originally on June 2021. But there are surfacing problems involving the covid-19 vaccination in the country which poses a question if Philippines is really ready for the Covid vaccine. Philippines being the second-highest rate in Southeast Asia is in great need of the vaccine, with over 444,000 total cases and 27, 781 active cases according to the Department of Health. And on November 8, Duterte announced that the Philippine government intends to borrow $300 million (around ₱14.5 billion) to purchase COVID-19 vaccines. The statement was made during the weekly meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) in Malacañang. As determined by the national coronavirus task force, the targeted population is around 25 million Filipinos to be first vaccinated led by medical frontliners and indigent senior citizens. On December 9, lawmakers made an estimate on how much the country will be spending to be able have at least 60 percent of the total population vaccinated. In light of this, Senate Committee on Finance chair Sony Angara presented a table that estimates and compares 7 Covid vaccine including Pfizer-BioNTech. According to the table, Pfizer comes in fourth after Gamaleya, Astrazeneca, and Novavax consecutively. Two doses of Pfizer vaccine costs 2,379 pesos and it is more expensive compared to other brands. Also due to its deep-freeze delivery chain it is not easy to transfer because it requires the vaccine to be stored around -70C, this includes special dry icepacks and a freezer farm for storage which is are added expenses. Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel said that “Sana hindi na tayo magtayo pa ng freezers, renting freezers just so vaccines can be brought to different parts of the archipelago,” hoping that all funds will be used for buying actual vaccines instead of extra equipment and storage. Following the executive order that allows the country’s FDA to fast-track Covid vaccine approval, Duterte has already allowed the emergency use of vaccines in the country. On December 2, the Malacanang released Executive Order No. 121 giving the FDA director-general the power to issue Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for vaccines that is safe and effective and is suitable for the country. And on December 7, spokesperson Harry Roque called President Rodrigo Duterte as “best communication tool” in regaining vaccine confidence among the Filipinos. Roque added that the president may be the first one to be vaccinated if the vaccine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for domestic use. The FDA has not yet issued Emergency Use Approval (EUA) for any Covid vaccine. But according to their director-general, Eric Domingo, the process could be done no longer than 21 days once the vaccine manufacturer gets approval from their home country and is able to send complete data to the Philippine government. As of now, the United Kingdom was the first to approve the vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTech. However, even in rich countries like the UK, rolling out of vaccines would not be as easy. From being second-highest rate of COVID in Southeast Asia to vaccine availability problems or funding problems, the Philippines continue to face challenges, not to mention the series of calamities that hit the country. But if the government will follow their word and be able to achieve that all Filipinos will be vaccinated and expenses will be covered entirely by the government itself, then maybe the Philippines will not just heal as one in spirit, but also heal from the deadly virus COVID-19.

by Nicole Gagula

#NotAMorningPerson During the onslaught of super typhoons Rolly and Ulysses, netizens cried #NasaanAngPangulo on the different social media platforms as a call out on the government’s substandard response to the consecutive disasters. On November 12, the day several parts of the country were hit by the super typhoon Ulysses, the people took their rage and disappointment on Facebook and Twitter to lash out on the incompetence of the unprepared relief, and disaster and rescue operations of the government. On the president’s televised speech, he argued that the government was ‘on top’ of the situation, therefore it is not expected of them to personally go the affected areas. It was revealed that the president attended the ASEAN Summit on the morning Ulysses struck the country. Earlier this month, Duterte also implied that he was not a ‘morning person’, and his day starts at 2 pm after the #NasaanAngPangulo trended in lieu of typhoon Rolly’s damaging on several areas in Luzon. #ThePowerofHashtags On the other side of the spectrum, Filipino netizens were able to utilize the power of algorithms in a positive way as it he ped in the rescue and donation operations for the people affected by the super typhoons. Prominent celebrities and social media influencers were at the frontline of the rescue and donation drives. Thanks to their efforts and with the help of social media algorithms, a lot of residents were rescued and aided with relief goods. #TwitterBardagulan Vice President Leni Robredo was among the progressives who maximized the use of social media platforms. The Office of the Vice President was able to conduct search and rescue operations with the help of netizens who report rescue cases on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtags such as #RescuePH #RollyPh, and #CagayanNeedsHelp among others. OVP was also able to pool funds to provide the basic needs of those affected, such as packed goods, first aid, and temporary evacuation centers. Meanwhile, while the country was being crippled by the super typhoons, Duterte aimed a call-out to Robredo. In his televised speech, he ridiculed Robredo for making him look bad on the face of adversity. Palace spokesperson, Harry Roque also stooped low to the extent of showing screenshots of the tweets of Robredo’s daughters, as proofs that Robredo is trying to sabotage Duterte. Netizens were quick to defend the OVP’s side, pointing out how that blow to Robredo is only a manifestation of the president’s fragile ego, uncalled for, and definitely, ‘unpresidential’. The trends #DuterteSadboi #MatulogKaNaLangDu30 topped PH trends afterwards.

By Alfaruc Andas

The City Government recorded a total of 3,074 COVID-19 recoveries out of the 3,416 total confirmed cases since March this year, or 90% recovery rate according to City Health Officer Dr. Dulce Miravite during the virtual presser Monday, December 7, 2020.

The Zamboanga City now has 195 ACTIVE cases of which 36 are admitted at Zamboanga City Medical Center, 51 are at private hospitals, and the rest are admitted at different LGU isolation facilities.

Furthermore, with 147 mortalities the mortality rate remains at 4%, and there are cumulatively 26,217 suspected cases out of which 26,050 are classified negative – the City Government has conducted about 29,466 RT-PCR tests and zero pending result as of Monday.

In spite of high recovery rate, Miravite urged the public to continue complying all the minimum health and safety protocols with the aim of slowing down the transmission and help flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases.

“We will still continue to have about 15 new additional cases per day, so poreso necesita syempre kita mang practice el diatun minimum health standards para abaha ya gadt el diatun kaso,” she said.

Zamboanga city remains under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) from December 1-31. Regardless, health and safety protocols will be strictly implemented during this yuletide season in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.