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WHO: 44m doses for PH
Covax assures 9.2m in first half; Manila among top 10 recipients By Willie Casas, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rey E. Requejo
T
HE Philippines can expect to receive 44 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year allocated by the Covax Facility, with up to 9.2 million doses arriving in the first half, a World Health Organization official said Thursday. The deliveries will start once the Philippine government fulfills the necessary arrangements needed by the Covax Facility to ensure smooth vaccine rollout and other requirements of manufacturers Pfizer BioNTech and AstraZeneca, said Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO representative to the Philippines. “When all of those requirements are met and we believe that the Philippines is on track to do that, we are looking potentially at a maximum of 9.2 million doses coming through the Covax facility by March or April of this year. We are optimistic that the remainder of the 44 million doses will come later on in the year,” Abeyasinghe said, adding that the Philippines will have access to up to 9.2 million AstraZeneca vaccines Next page
MEGA-VAX. Marikina City’s megavaccination facility has just been formally inaugurated with Mayor Marcy Teodoro leading the rites on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. The city government claims to give the jab to 10,000 residents each day and allows them to choose the vaccine they want.
VOL. XXXIV • NO. 332 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
4,000 COVID variants detected; vaccine makers on their toes A BRITISH minister in charge of vaccine deployment said there are now around 4,000 variants of the novel coronavirus around the world and vaccine makers must improve their shots to combat the new strains. “All manufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca and others, are looking at how they can
improve their vaccine to make sure that we are ready for any variant – there are about 4,000 variants around the world of COVID now,” British Minister Nadhim Zahawi said. “Its very unlikely that the current vaccine won’t be effective on the variants especially when it comes to severe illness and hospitalization,” he added.
COVID-19 PH
According to the British Medical Journal, only a very small minority of the mutated strains are likely to be important even as thousands of variants have been detected.
alternating doses of COVID-19 vaccines created by different manufacturers, the first study of its kind. The trial will show whether different COVID doses – those created by the Astrazeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech Alternating COVID-19 jabs pharmaceutical companies – can be Oxford University announced on used interchangeably to allow greater Next page Thursday it will launch a medical trial
Rody OKs more pork imports, forms team to go after hoarders By Vito Barcelo, Rey E. Requejo may approve an increase in pork imports to address a supply shortage, the and Othel V. Campos
AT A GLANCE
(AS OF 4 PM FEBRUARY 4)
531,699 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES
1,590 32,775 NEW
ACTIVE
10,997
55
487,927
249
DEATHS
RECOVERIES
NEW
NEW
‘Lifeliners’ get no-disconnect power policy P19-b doleout for workers Palace said Thursday. The President also approved the agriPRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has approved the creation of an “economic in- culture department’s recommendation telligence” group to go after profiteers to review the minimum access volume and hoarders of meat and agricultural (MAV) for pork, to raise limits to the goods who are driving prices up and Next page
By Vito Barcelo, Maricel V. Cruz, 2 million workers and about 500,000 overseas Filipino workers this year. and Macon Ramos-Araneta
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III THE Department of Labor and Em- said the original budget was only P16 ployment (DOLE) has allotted P19 bil- billion but they received an additional lion in financial assistance to almost Next page
By Vito Barcelo
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has approved the extension of the “no disconnection” policy for customers of “lifeliners’ that consume less than 200 Next page
Palace allots P362m for ‘surveillance’ By Willie Casas PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has approved the allocation of P362 million for genomic biosurveillance, which is expected to strengthen the government’s overall coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response. In a virtual presser on Thursday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Next page
THRESHING OUT THE ISSUES. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (right) and
UP President Danilo Concepcion engage in a banter before a meeting between the two camps. Initiated by CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera III, the meeting followed DND’s unilateral decision to scrap a 1989 agreement between it and UP, effectively negating the university’s right to ‘academic space’ and allowing military troops as well as policemen to enter its campus at will. (Story on Page 2)
PAF refleets with 15 Black Hawks By Vito Barcelo
FIRE-PRONE. Several residential buildings caught fire in a Mandaluyong barangay around 3 in the afternoon of February 4, 2021, sending residents scampering for safety. Many of the houses were made of light, inflammable materials, according to firemen who have yet to determine what caused the blaze. No one was reported injured. Lino Santos
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has approved the acquisition of 15 Black Hawk helicopters to boost the air defense capability of the military, Malacanang said Thursday. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the helicopter purchase will replace the fleet of Huey helicopters that will be retired to prevent any tragic
deaths from fatal crashes. He said the latest decision of the President to enhance the country’s military air assets was reached during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The Malacanang official said the country actually needs 76 helicopters to boost the military’s defense capability, but the government could only afford to secure 15 choppers as it battles Next page
Sex toys sell like ‘hot cake’; global sales explode SEX toy sales have exploded as millions around the world seek to spice up lockdown with new bedroom accessories and Western societies shake off the last taboos Next page