‘imbalance’ must be corrected Duterte

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Some Filipinos, who were already vaccinated, are becoming lax on following COVID-19 safety protocols, which is still being required with more than a year into lockdown, OCTA Research Fellow Dr. Guido David said Wednesday.

David said this after he was asked if Filipinos are being "overconfident" after getting vaccinated as virus infections keep on "fluctuating" amid strict community quarantine measures. "Actually, kasama yan sa mga dahilan, may mga nagkakaroon ng confidence na feeling superman na and then connected there nagiging lax na rin tayo ng kaunti," said David.

On those who opt not to get a second dose of vaccine, David reminded that there is no guarantee that getting the first dose of the drug will fully protect them from the virus. "'Wag naman nila isipin na kapag naka first dose na okay na sila or protektado na. Hindi. Mababa pa protection. Nagrarange from 3 percent to 30 percent ang protection with the first dose. Baka may possibility na makakuha pa ng severe (infection)," David said, amid reports of those who failed to return for second dose of vaccines. "Kapag nagpabakuna tayo, kunin na natin ang second dose (Once we get vaccinated, let's remember to get the second dose.)," added David.

Meanwhile, David also noted that increased mobility also cause a risk in transmission in communities. "Of course, nagbubukas tayo ng ekonomiya slowly pero ginagawa naman natin slowly. Pero kahit sa pag-increase ng mobility habang dumadami mga tao sa labas mas tumataas ang risk ng kahawaaan," he said. (We are slowly reopening the economy but with the increase in mobility, with more people going outside, the risk of transmission is high.)

Likewise, David reminded that lockdowns are not the only solution for decreasing COVID-19 cases but also aggressive contact tracing.

Earlier, the OCTA Research Team noted an increase in reproduction number in the National Capital Region from 0.57 to 0.68.

To recall, Metro Manila reverted to general community quarantine from May 15 to May 31. The national government then extended the classification over NCR until June 15.

As of Wednesday, Philippines registered 1,240,716 total virus infections with 52,132 active cases, 21,158 deaths and 1,167,426 recoveries. (MNS)

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Thursday said the time is not yet right to lift the policy requiring the wearing of face shields in public areas, noting the Philippines’ low COVID-19 vaccine coverage so far.

This was after Manila Mayor Isko Moreno renewed appeals for the national government to stop requiring the use of face shields in public, saying it was high time to adjust pandemic policies.

“Okay [ang] mungkahi ni Mayor Isko kung malaki na vaccination coverage natin (Mayor Isko’s proposal would be okay if we had a wide vaccination coverage),” Duque said.

“Hindi pa pwedeng tanggalin ang face shield policy (We can’t drop the face shield policy) for now when our two-dose vaccination coverage is a little over 2% due to still inadequate vaccine supply,” he added.

The Philippines has only vaccinated over 3.9 million people as of May 30, still far from the government’s target of inoculating 58 million individuals in COVID-19 hotspots by November.

The inter-agency COVID-19 task force made the use of face shields mandatory only in December last year.

Duque has repeatedly stressed that the use of face shields is backed by science, citing a study published in leading international medical journal The Lancet.

“There are many scientific studies showing that face shields in combination with face masks and more than 1-meter social distancing provide a greater than 95% protection,” he said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, said the “evaluation of face shields is ongoing, but effectiveness is unknown at this time.”

Both local and international experts have also advised against the use of face shields as a substitute for face masks, with one US study showing that shields alone cannot prevent the spread of the virus. (MNS) MANILA (Mabuhay) — President Rodrigo Duterte has renewed his call for universal access to safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines, stressing that vaccine “imbalance” will have consequences.

Duterte made this pitch during the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) Summit co-hosted by Japan Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and GAVI Chair of the Board Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday, according to a press statement from the Office of the President.

In his speech, he emphasized the current “glaring imbalance” in vaccine distribution with more than 82 percent of the global supply going to developed countries.

“This imbalance must be corrected – or there will be no real and inclusive global recovery to speak of,” Duterte said.

Duterte also reiterated his earlier pledge to donate USD1 million as a contribution to the World Health Organization (WHO)-led COVAX initiative to aid in accelerating global vaccination coverage.

He first mentioned his desire to contribute USD1 million to the COVAX Facility in a pre-recorded public address on Monday.

“It is our moral responsibility to help each other and face this crisis with greater solidarity and urgency. While modest, our contribution demonstrates our firm commitment to this global fight against Covid-19,” he added.

Duterte said the Philippines, as both donor and recipient country, counts on the COVAX initiative to bring much-needed vaccines to developing countries.

He also thanked the GAVI Alliance and encouraged more countries to also contribute.

The Summit was held with the aim to fill the 1.8 billion gap of the COVAX AMC to provide Covid-19 vaccine doses for lower-income economies.

Securing 1.8 billion doses would enable the AMC to protect nearly 30 percent of the population in all AMC countries or roughly half the entire adult population.

Currently, the AMC has funds in place to protect approximately 20 percent of populations, equivalent to all health and social care workers, the elderly, and those with underlying health conditions. (MNS)

MANILA (Mabuhay) — Filipinos may still get their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine even after missing their schedule by one or two weeks, an epidemiology and data analytics expert working with government said Thursday.

Some 1 out of 2.1 million vaccinees missed their second dose after being expected to receive the shot after 8 weeks, according to Dr. John Wong, founder of health research institution EpiMetrics Inc. "Okay lang naman basta ang importante bumalik sila para sa second dose. Without the second dose kulang ang protection nila. Kahit na you miss by 1 week or 2 weeks, basta bumalik ka," he said.

Individuals missed their second dose appointment likely due to fear of side effects, conflict of schedule, or lack of supply, he added.

Government aims to inoculate 500,000 Filipinos daily in Metro manila and 8 other key economic hubs to achieve "population protection" by November 27, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez earlier said.

Some 1.2 million Filipinos are fully-vaccinated against COVID-19 while government has administered more than 5.18 million jabs. (MNS)

MANILA (Mabuhay) — President Rodrigo has appeared in a government infomercial to invite Filipinos to get vaccinated against Covid-19, stressing that it is key to beating the ongoing health crisis.

“I invite all our kababayans to be vaccinated at the earliest possible opportunity because this is the most, if not the only way, effective way to defeat Covid-19 pandemic,” Duterte said in a nearly two-minute commercial.

He reminded Filipinos to get vaccinated for themselves as well as their loved ones.

“Let us all keep in mind that the vaccine will not only protect you from the virus, it will also protect your loved ones, especially the sick and elderly,” he added.

Citing the Department of Health’s (DOH) vaccination campaign, Duterte said people’s participation is crucial to safely reopen the economy.

“Your participation in the “Resbakuna: Kasangga ng BIDA” campaign is therefore key if we are to reopen our economy and reclaim our normal lives,” he said.

He also assured that the national government will continue to ensure the health and safety of Filipinos amid the prevailing pandemic.

“To the Filipino people, let me assure you that the government will continue to do its best to protect you until we overcome this health crisis together. Let us heal as one nation. Kapwa Pilipino, magpabakuna na po tayo (My fellow Filipino, let us get vaccinated),” he added.

In a pre-recorded public address on Monday, Duterte urged local government units (LGUs) to make use of technology to reduce queue time among recipients of Covid-19 vaccines.

“Making them queue for an hour or longer exposes them to other risks. Please use technology and advanced approaches to make sure the entire process is more effective,” he said.

He suggested that LGU officials distribute cards with numbers and their assigned time to cut long lines.

Duterte appealed to speed up the vaccination rollout to avoid people from gathering in one area and prevent wastage due to spoilage.

He also directed vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. to ensure equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines across the country.

The country now has four brands of Covid-19 vaccines in its inventory namely Sinovac’s CoronaVac (China), AstraZeneca (UK), Sputnik V (Russia), and Pfizer (US).

More than 5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered since the Philippines launched its vaccination drive on March 1.

The Philippines is aiming to achieve “population protection” against Covid-19 by inoculating 50 to 60 percent of the population with concentration in Metro Manila, two other cities, and six provinces. (MNS)

MANILA (Mabuhay) — The COVID-19 reproduction number in the National Capital Region has increased to 0.68 from 0.57 over the past week, according to OCTA Research's bulletin covering May 26 to June 1, 2021, released on Wednesday.

The reproduction number refers to the number of people that each COVID-19 case can infect. The World Health Organization’s benchmark for the positivity rate is 5% or lower.

In its bulletin, OCTA also reported that the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila had an 8% growth rate to 1,135.

While this is considered as a “slight” increase, OCTA said this is the first time that there is a rise in growth rate since the peak of the surge.

The NCR is still under the moderate risk as the research group recorded 8.22 per 100,000 average daily attack rate (ADAR).

Meanwhile, the healthcare utilization rate in the region was at 41% while occupancy rate was at 53%. OCTA said these rates are still within the safe level threshold of 60%.

On the other hand, the reproduction number in the entire Philippines increased to 1.09.

OCTA also observed an increase of 37% in the seven-day period with 6,699 cases.

“Note that the previous week’s average of 4,898 is the lowest daily average since the peak of the surge in April,” OCTA said in its report.

“The cause for this reversal in the downward trend is that the NCR Plus did not see a decrease in cases the past week that would counter the upward trends seen in many provinces and [local government units] outside the NCR Plus bubble,” it added.

The researchers also noted the “significant increases” in COVID-19 cases in Antipolo City in Rizal and Santa Rosa in Laguna. Both provinces are part of the NCR Plus bubble that is currently under modified general community quarantine.

OCTA also tagged the following provinces outside the NCR Plus Bubble as “areas of concern”: Davao City, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo City, Tuguegarao, General Santos, Butuan, Batangas City and Tarlac City.

All of these provinces had significant upward trends over the past week, OCTA said.

Moreover, the health care utilization rate (HCUR) in Iloilo City (88%) and Tuguegarao (91%) were above the critical level of 85%

The HCUR in Cagayan de Oro (75%), Zamboanga City (73%), Butuan (81%) and Tarlac City (77%) were also tagged by OCTA as “high” with rates above 70%. (MNS) In this photo released May 3, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte receives Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine administered by Health Secretary Francisco Duque. (Sen. Bong Go/FB Page)

(Mabuhay) — The Philippines is seeking to get 3 million to 5 million COVID-19 vaccines from the United States’ 80 million surplus, vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Wednesday.

“Kasi alam naman natin na kailangan din ng ibang bansa ang vaccines at nakita natin sa ASEAN region tayo ay pangalawa sa pinakamataas na nagba-vaccinate. Ang ano namin is kung mabigyan po tayo ng 3 to 5 million, maganda na po ‘yon,” Galvez said.

He said the US might give their surplus vaccines to the COVAX Facility and the organization will be in charge for its distribution.

Galvez further disclosed that the Philippines specifically requested for AstraZeneca COVID-19 brand as this was not used in the US vaccination program.

“We requested for almost 3 million AstraZeneca and other vaccines, considering that, we know AstraZeneca will not be used in the US, but they have stocks,” he said.

Apart from AstraZeneca, Galvez said that he signed a document which stated that the US might also give Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine.

He reiterated that the Philippines is among the “first priority” that will receive the COVID-19 surplus from US.

Last week, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez said the Philippines will be among the countries that will receive surplus Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses from the US.

Romualdez said the shipment may arrive as early as June.

He said the Philippines are also expecting vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnsons & Johnsons either in July or August. (MNS)