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Health & Family Health & Family

DOH fast-tracking possible Sinovac use for seniors as AstraZeneca supply runs out

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 Organization-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 offi cial mass testing system to hit target COVID-19 tests

SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Senator Risa (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 tioned 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 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

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)

Gov’t cautioned vs using antigen testing for COVID-19 screening

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Former Health Secretary and now Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin cautioned the government from using rapid antigen testing to boost its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) screening, saying the test is mainly used for symptomatic patients.

Garin made the remark after the Department of Health (DOH) announced that those who tested positive through rapid antigen testing in areas with a high number of COVID-19 cases—such as Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces—will now be included in the official tally of infections.

“Ang rapid antigen testing ay ginagamit para malaman ng mga doctor kung ang pasyente nilang may sintomas ng COVID ay positive o negative sa SARS-CoV2. Essentially for symptomatics ito,” Garin said in a statement.

Garin explained that if asymptomatic patients tested negative, they should still undergo confirmatory RT-PCR test because rapid antigen testing has a false negative rate of about 40 percent.

“Nauuso ngayon ang antigen testing dahil mabilis, pero huwag tayo makampante. RT-PCR test pa rin ang gold standard sa COVID-19 testing,” Garin said.

Garin likewise stressed the importance of prepositioning essential medicines during the pandemic such as COVID-19 investigational drugs Remdesivir and Tocilizumab.

“I have been receiving messages and calls asking for Remdesivir and Tocilizumab. In a pandemic, dapat prepositioned na ang mga gamot,” Garin said.

“Hanggang ngayon hirap pa rin maghanap ng gamot ang mga tao. Kailangan pa nila gumawa ng sariling paraan to source medicines na kung prepositioned na eh hindi sana naging problema,” Garin added.

Despite this, Garin cautioned the public against using Ivermectin for COVID-19, saying the anti-parasitic drug did not go through intensive study and clinical trial for use on humans.

“Hindi porke may narinig tayo o nabasa ay paniniwalaan na natin. Huwag naman natin sayangin ang efforts ng ating mga scientists,” she said. (MNS)

Robredo to DOH, IATF: Look ‘seriously’ into hospital bed shortage

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Vice-President Leni Robredo on Wednesday reiterated her call to health and inter-agency task force (IATF) officials to "seriously look" into the reported shortage of hospital beds and rooms for COVID-19 patients.

Robredo said in a statement that her office has been receiving messages from families of COVID-19 patients who can't be confined at hospitals due to lack of beds and rooms. "I have recommended many times over that we need to already expand hospital capacity -by setting up field hospitals, hiring more health care workers and paying them well, making sure hospitals are equipped with everything necessary to treat patients," Robredo said. "I am saying this again today because I caught on TV the coverage of the hearings of the Committee on Health yesterday at the House of Representatives where DOH (Department of Health) was standing by their data that hospitals are not full yet and was insisting that 93% of COVID patients have mild symptoms and do not need hospitalization. "But again, iba 'yung personal account ng mga families sa sinasabi sa DOH data. If people who don’t need hospitalization are still getting in line in hospitals, there must be underlying reasons. "Have we built a system where people who are self-isolating at home would still have access to medical help when necessary?"

The Vice President said people asking for her office's help said they can't get through the hotline numbers given by authorities in case of COVID-19 symptoms. "It must be because the system is already overloaded. Inayos man lang ba yung infrastructure nito? Marami na ngayon nag-o-offer ng Home Care Medical Package. Pero papaano yung mga walang pambayad? At kahit pa meron, may mga pamantayan ba ang DOH na kailangan sundin nung mga Home Care Specialists para din ma ensure kaligtasan ng mga nagkakasakit?" she said. "Pasensya na po na makulit tayo about this. People are getting sick and are dying. Bilis bilisan sana natin yung pagtugon kasi sobrang urgent pag buhay ng tao nakataya."

A group of independent researchers earlier projected hospitals in Metro Manila will reach full capacity by Holy Week if government failed to slow down COVID-19 transmission.

If the current reproduction number of about 1.9 continues, total bed and intensive care units for virus patients will reach full capacity by the "first week of April," the OCTA Research Group said.

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the capital region, Calabarzon, and Central Visayas have risen over the "past few days," said Dr. Jose Rene De Grano, president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines.

The Philippines' COVID-19 treatment "czar" also had said the decreasing healthcare capacity of Metro Manila was "alarming."

Health Undersecretary Leopold Vega, head of the One Hospital Command, said more than half of isolation beds and 64 percent of ICU beds in the region are currently occupied. "This is already 60 percent, so alarming," he said of Metro Manila's ICU bed utilization. "We need to do something. We need to do the appropriate response in terms of capacitating iyong mga hospitals, both public and private," he said. (MNS)

Palace: Duterte eyes creation of Vaccine Institute as legacy

MANILA (Mabuhay) — President Rodrigo Duterte wants to fund a Vaccine Institute before he steps down from office on June 30, 2022, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Tuesday.

“What he wants is for the (Department of Budget and Management) to set aside funding for Vaccine Institute so we can manufacture our own vaccine,” Roque said at a Palace briefing.

“He wants to leave it as a legacy: having a Vaccine Institute, para hindi na tayo umaasa sa inaangkat na bakuna [so that we will not depend on imported vaccines]," he added.

The Philippines is currently facing a surge in COVID-19 cases with 115,495 active ones so far — a figure reached after a record-setting 10,016 new infections reported on March 29.

The Philippine government has also imposed varying lockdowns to prevent COVID-19 transmission for the past year, and such lockdown preventing non-essential trips and non-essential services from operating is still in effect in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces one year after.

The Philippines started its COVID-19 vaccination program last March 1, but the Philippines has only 2,525,600 doses of COVID-19 vaccine supply thus far from Sinovac and AstraZeneca.

Of the 2,525,600 doses, 1,525,600 were donated by China (Sinovac) and COVAX facility (AstraZeneca) while one million doses of Sinovac were paid for by the national government.

The rest of the vaccine supply is expected to arrive in the second and third quarter of the year. (MNS)

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