Health & & Family Health Family DOH fast-tracking possible Sinovac use for seniors as AstraZeneca supply runs out 18
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MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Department of Health (DOH) is fast-tracking the process on the possible administration of Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19 to the elderly after AstraZeneca vaccine doses have run out, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday. “We are working with Sinovac to submit efficacy data on seniors today so we can expand use to 60 years old and above. Will refer it to FDA (Food and Drug Administration), NITAG (National Immunization Technical Advisory Group), HTAC (Health Technology Assessment Council),” Duque said. The FDA, which gave an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Sinovac's vaccine to be used on individuals aged 18 to 59, earlier said that it needs data from clinical trials before it can recommend it to senior citizens. Only the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Sputnik V vaccines can be used on senior citizens. All three have been approved for emergency use but so far only AstraZeneca's vaccine has reached the country. However, the supply of AstraZenaca vaccines are running out with the city of Manila stopping its inoculation of senior citizens against COVID-19. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said there would be a “slight delay” in the delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX Facility due to logistical problems. The Philippines has so far received 525,600 AstraZeneca vaccine doses from COVAX Facility, a World Health Organ-
ization-backed initiative that seeks to ensure equitable access to vaccines, especially poorer nations. Asked how long will be the process before Sinovac vaccines can be administered to senior citizens, Duque said, “Asap iyan [as soon as possible)!” “Pero depende sa Sinovac when they can send it. Minamadali ni Secretary Galvez sila,” he added. (MNS)
Hontiveros calls for official mass testing system to hit target COVID-19 tests
SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS
MANILA (Mabuhay) — Senator Risa Hontiveros is calling on the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 to establish an official mass testing system as part of its COVID-19 response. Hontiveros made the call after testing czar Vince Dizon said they would increase the country's testing capacity to 90,000 per day, which, according to the senator, came a little too late. In a statement, Hontiveros questioned why the NTF was "only now paying attention to the suggestion" to the Department of Health's recommendation to use antigen tests to test more people for COVID-19. “I urge the NTF to be more vigilant. We have all the tools and information, but we keep on acting too late. This is what happened when we didn’t close our borders the first time, and again, when we failed to close them as the new variants started to spread," she said. "We need an official
and national mass testing system to hit our targets and to hit them smartly. We need to increase the magnitude of testing and sustain the quality so that we do not post artificial improvement," she added. Dizon on Tuesday said the government is planning to ramp up COVID-19 tests to 80,000 to 90,000 per day in Metro Manila and nearby provinces -- areas that are experiencing a surge in infections. To achieve this, he said the government will be using antigen test kits certified by the World Health Organization and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine along with the RT-PCR test. Hontiveros said that while the targeted 90,000 tests per day is a good start, it should "be the floor, not the target ceiling." Citing the DOH COVID-19 tracker, she said the country tested as few as 28,000 cases in March despite the rising number of cases. She also lamented the average of 13 tests for every COVID-19 case in the Philippines, which she said is an "extremely far cry from the 111 tests per
Saturday-Friday | April 3 - 9, 2021
21K indigents get P145-M medical aid — PCSO MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has released over PHP145 million in medical assistance to 21,599 eligible indigent beneficiaries nationwide. In a statement Thursday, PCSO general manager Royina Garma said the total amount of assistance was given to beneficiaries from March. 1 to 31, 2021. The Medical Access Program (MAP), formerly known as the Individual Medical Assistance Program (IMAP), is designed to augment the medical needs of indigent Filipinos, particularly hospital confinement, chemotherapy, dialysis, and post-transplant medicines. The program is funded by revenues from PCSO games nationwide. Among the beneficiaries were 3,502 individuals from the National Capital Region (NCR) who received a total of PHP31.4 million, and 5,271 individuals from Northern and Central Luzon who were given PHP35.36 million. In the Southern Tagalog and Bicol Region, about PHP30.96 million were released to 5,584 indigents. In the Visayas, the PCSO under the MAP also assisted 3,853 individuals who were provided with PHP25.12 million in medical aid, while 3,389 individuals in Mindanao benefited PHP22.21 million. Earlier, Garma said the agency is continuing to provide medical assistance to the increasing number of indigents seeking help from PCSO amid the coronavirus disease crisis. "Rest assured that the agency will find ways to meet the medical and health-related needs of all Filipinos, especially the marginalized," he said. (MNS) case of Thailand, and the 1000 tests per case of Vietnam." “The truth is we have no choice but to set high targets, and hit them. No ifs or buts," Hontiveros said. "We can no longer fall short because the consequence is the disturbing outbreak we are facing and will continue to face.” (MNS)
GENE SEQUENCING MACHINE CONTAMINATED; COVID-19 VARIANT CASES UPDATE DELAYED BY A WEEK — DOH MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Philippine Genome Center's gene sequence machines got contaminated, precluding the Department of Health from releasing an update on new COVID-19 variant cases in the country, a health official said Wednesday. “Nagkaroon ng contamination yung kanilang mga makinang ginagamit. So kailangan magkaroon ng preventive maintenance. And they are trying to address the issue,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a virtual briefing. Vergeire said the the PGC wrote to them to explain what happened. “Natapos na po ang ginawang maintenance procedures. At ngayon po, nagra-run tayo ng panibagong run dahil yun ngang previous ay nagkaroon ng problema,” the health official said.
The DOH usually releases updates on the number of COVID-19 cases with variants of concern by the end of every week. There was no update released last week. Vergeire said the PGC might release its latest sequencing results by Friday or Saturday. The latest variant cases data are as of March 19: -B.1.1.7 or UK variant - 223 cases -B.1.351 or South African variant - 152 cases -P.1 or Brazilian variant - 1 case -P.3 variant (which was first detected in the Philippines) - 104 cases While the DOH has mainly attributed the alarming rise in COVID-19 cases this month to non-compliance with health protocols, it has also recognized how the more transmissible variants may have added to the quick spread of the virus.
All of the detected variants contain a mutation that makes the virus more transmissible or contagious,
although the World Health Organization has yet to release its analysis on the P.3 variant. (MNS)
