More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
Is the Philippines desperate for vaccines? They had plenty of time to secure deals with companies. Vaccines are also on the way. So why is the Department of Labor resorting to bargaining?
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| https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/24/asia/philippines-nurses-vaccine-exchange-intl-hnk/index.html |
The Philippines will let thousands of its health care workers, mostly nurses, take up jobs in Britain and Germany if the two countries agree to donate coronavirus vaccines, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Britain's health ministry said it was not interested in such a deal and its priority was to use shots domestically, but added it would share surplus vaccine internationally in the future.
Alice Visperas, director of the labor ministry's international affairs bureau, said the Philippines was open to lifting the cap in exchange for vaccines from Britain and Germany, which it would use to inoculate outbound workers and hundreds of thousands of Filipino repatriates.
Nurses are among the millions of Filipinos who work overseas, providing in excess of $30 billion a year in remittances vital to the country's economy.
"We are considering the request to lift the deployment cap, subject to agreement," Visperas told Reuters.
Britain said there were 11,000 more nurses working in the National Health Service (NHS) than last year. It said that while it was grateful to the 30,000 Filipinos working for the NHS, Britain did not need to trade vaccines for more.
"We have no plans for the UK to agree a vaccine deal with the Philippines linked to further recruitment of nurses," a health ministry spokeswoman said, citing Prime Minister Boris Johnson's pledge to share spare shots later in the year.
"We have confirmed that we will share any surplus vaccines in the future -- for example through the COVAX international procurement pool."
The Philippines wants to secure 148 million doses of vaccines altogether, while Britain has ordered more than 400 million doses, six times its population.
Well the UK is not biting that's for sure. But why even make this bargain? It makes the Philippines look weak. And it is totally unnecessary.
The Philippine General Hospital, PGH, is ready for any vaccine.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/777391/pgh-ready-to-accept-any-covid-19-vaccine-brand-says-exec/story/ |
The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) is ready to receive any brand of coronavirus vaccine, hospital director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi said Thursday ahead of the expected delivery of Sinovac jabs.
"Whatever the first vaccine comes we will accept and our basis for receiving it is the EUA (emergency use authorization) which will be provided by our FDA (Food and Drug Administration)," he said in a virtual briefing.
"We all know that if the FDA gives any vaccine the EUA, the safety and efficacy are assured," he added.
The Sinovac vaccines donated by the Chinese government are expected to arrive on Sunday, Malacañang said.
But the FDA said healthcare workers cannot receive the Sinovac vaccine because of its low efficacy rate! Does the PGH not know this??
Whatever the consequence of taking the vaccine will be the AFP has no choice.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/777397/vaccination-of-soldiers-vs-covid-19-mandatory-afp-spox/story/ |
The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday said vaccination of its personnel against COVID-19 will be mandatory.
At a virtual press briefing, AFP spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo said soldiers may select their vaccine brand but cannot refuse to be inoculated.
"To get inoculated or not is not an option to the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It is a duty," Arevalo said, adding the mandatory vaccination for soldiers was ordered by AFP chief Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana.
"At the most, the exercise of option will be the option as to what brand of vaccine they will be availing of but the cost of which will not be paid by the Armed Forces of the Philippines," he added.
They can choose which vaccine they will take but they cannot refuse to take the vaccine.
Remember when the PSG injected themselves with illegal and smuggled vaccines? The AFP says those men are not criminals but heroes.
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/26/21/duterte-security-teams-use-of-unauthorized-covid-19-shots-a-heroism-afp |
The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Friday dubbed as an act of "heroism" the use of unauthorized COVID-19 vaccine by President Rodrigo Duterte's security team, which has again gained attention as the country's vaccination drive lagged.
The Food and Drug Administration this week said the Presidential Security Team has not yet responded to an inquiry on their use of a coronavirus vaccine from Chinese state firm Sinopharm last year, which lacked authorization then.
(For the nth time, we will stress that the vaccination of the PSG is not a race against or deceit of anyone. That is actually an act of heroism because they did their mission to protect the President of the country and Commander in Chief.)
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/777686/vaccine-arrival-officially-kicks-off-national-vaccination-program-galvez/story/ |
Many doctors and health workers have expressed concern with the Sinovac vaccine which has a 50.4% efficacy rate.The arrival of more than 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines starting Sunday officially kicks off the national vaccination program, National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said.
"With the arrival of vaccines from Sinovac and AstraZeneca on Sunday and Monday, respectively, the country’s vaccine rollout formally starts," Galvez said in a statement.
A total of 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Sinovac — a donation from China — are expected to arrive at the Villamor Airbase on Sunday afternoon, of which 100,000 doses will be allocated to the Philippine military.
The Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) expressed relief on Sunday over the scheduled arrival of COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca on Monday, which healthcare workers can use aside from the vaccines from Sinovac.Interviewed on Dobol B TV, PCP President Dr. Mario Panaligan said they have fears about the Sinovac vaccine, which are expected to arrive on Sunday afternoon, because the details on its Phase 3 trials have not been published yet.“First, it is fun to have a vaccine. But the second, which is also more important, is the fear because Sinovac came first. It is good that AstraZeneca followed, ”he said."It turns out that the one with AstraZeneca is coming because it is the one with the published data. Because that is what we are looking for, ”he added.Healthcare workers will be the first recipients of COVID-19 vaccines according to the priority list of the government.
Malacañang announced on Saturday that the government’s Covid-19 task force has approved he uniform travel protocols for all local government units (LGUs), with Covid-19 testing and quarantine for travelers no longer mandatory.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that that under Resolution No. 101 issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), Covid-19 testing for travelers is not mandatory, unless the LGU will make it a requirement.
“Ang testing ay limitado lang po sa RT-PCR test (Testing will be limited to RT-PCR test) ,” Roque said over state-run PTV.
The latest IATF resolution also states that travelers shall no longer undergo quarantine unless they exhibit symptoms upon arrival at their destination.
When it comes to documentary requirements, Roque said that the travel authority issued by the Joint Task Force Covid-19 Shield, as well as health certificates, is no longer required.
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| https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/3/1/COVID-19-vaccine-PGH-Philippines-Sinovac.html |
The much-awaited COVID-19 vaccination drive in the Philippines kicked off Monday in six government facilities, with the director of a state hospital receiving the very first of legal doses administered.
Philippine General Hospital Director Dr. Gerardo "Gap" Legaspi received Sinovac's CoronaVac, the first batch of vaccines that arrived in the country through a donation from China, from nurse Chareluck Santos.
"Hindi ko ma-describe ang [I can't describe the] feeling. It’s probably release from all the fears... The honor is there," Legaspi said.
The vaccination of the decorated neurosurgeon and known pioneer of awake craniotomy surgery in the Philippines drew cheers and applause from other hospital staff and media personnel who were taking part in the historic event.
"Kayong dalawa ay nasa kasaysayan na ng COVID-19," the emcee of the program at PGH said of Legaspi and Santos.
[Translation: You two will now be in the history of COVID-19.]
But prior to the shots received by Legaspi and the others, several government officials and members of the Presidential Security Group jumped the priority line and used smuggled vaccines made by China state-owned Sinopharm as early as last year.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1401149/biliran-governor-dangles-cash-incentives-to-increase-vaccine-acceptance |
The governor of Biliran is offering cash incentives to towns and villages in the province that can convince 70 percent of their respective population to have themselves vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to Gov. Rogelio Espina, villages will each get P100,000 while towns will each receive P1 million if they manage to comply with his directive.
Espina’s offer was the first from a governor and came amid the people’s reluctance to be inoculated, including those in the medical profession, particularly with vaccines manufactured in China.
In the City of San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan province, for example, only about 30 percent of the 1,700 employees of the city government were initially willing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus disease, according to local officials.
Many local governments across the country also face the same resistance to inoculation, just as they were moving forward to secure the life-saving shots and roll out their respective vaccination plan.
Espina’s move was seen to encourage more people to have themselves vaccinated in a bid to achieve herd immunity, where the population can be protected from the virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached.
The governor said the cash incentives would be taken from the savings of the provincial government and will be distributed in December 2021.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1401783/doh-detects-6-cases-of-south-african-variants-of-covid-19-30-new-cases-of-uk-variant |
The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday recorded six cases of the South African variant of Covid-19 in the Philippines, as well as 30 new cases of the United Kingdom variant.
“Of the six South African variant cases, three are local cases, two are returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs), and one case is still being verified as to location,” the DOH said in a statement.
The DOH added that the three local cases of the South African variant were reported as residents of Pasay City, and whose samples were collected on Jan. 27 and Feb. 13.
“Two of the local cases, a 61-year-old female and a 39-year-old male, are active cases being managed by Pasay City. The third local case, a 40-year-old male, has already recovered,” the DOH said.
“On the other hand, the two ROFs arrived in the country from UAE and Qatar; their statuses are currently being verified. Moreover, the DOH is currently verifying if the sixth case is a local case or an ROF,” the DOH added.
“While there is no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease, the pattern of mutations within this variant suggests higher transmissibility and may have an impact on vaccine efficacy,” the DOH said.
Aside from six cases of the South African variant, the DOH also reported 30 new cases of the B.1.1.7 variant that originated from the UK.
This brings the total cases of the UK variant to 87.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1401794/fda-faces-blank-wall-on-probe-of-psgs-use-of-smuggled-vaccines |
“If I tell you frankly, it’s a blank wall. We’re not getting information, the DOH [Department of Health] is not getting any information,” Domingo said in an interview over the ABS-CBN News Channel.
“People are still at it and I am not getting any info on that,” he added.
It was in December when PSG commander Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III admitted that some members self-inoculated themselves with the Covid-19 vaccine as early as September, without seeking President Rodrigo Duterte’s permission.
Duterte later warned Congress against “tinkering” with the supposed self-vaccination of the PSG personnel. The chief executive also said that he was not aware of the vaccinations.
Asked what can the FDA do despite Duterte’s pronouncements, Domingo said: “Well, we just continue our investigation as it is and try to get more information from anywhere we can get.”
Children learn by touching? What does that even mean? Where I live the children are doing just fine. They run around and ride bikes. Just like normal."We are concerned now about the children, the younger children who have been deprived of the socio-emotional learning because they learn primarily by touch. So can you imagine, hindi sila pwedeng humawak? And for me that's the primary thing: children learn by touching. That's why we're saying that there's a silent pandemic that is forthcoming," he stressed.
The doctor continued that it is important for adults to be "cognizant" of the situation so they could address it.
It is still possible for “influencers” to be given priority in receiving coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) jabs when the next batch of vaccine doses is delivered to the country, Malacañang said on Wednesday.
In an interview with Radio Mindanao Network, Roque said the proposal to inoculate around 50 influencers ahead of other Filipinos was rejected since the Philippines only has a limited supply of Covid-19 vaccines.
“Siguro kasi 600,000 pa lang ang dumarating eh hindi pa po pinayagan. Pero tingnan po natin. Baka naman kapag dumating na ang mas maraming supply, baka matuloy pa rin po ‘yung atingproposal (Perhaps, it was not allowed because we only have 600,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine. But let’s see. Our proposal might be approved, once we receive more supply),” Roque said.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases earlier proposed to reserve vaccine shots for influencers to boost public confidence in vaccines.
The influencers, Roque said on Tuesday, included him and other government officials, media personalities, and movie personalities.
However, the interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (iNITAG) rejected the proposal, saying the vaccines must be given to frontline healthcare workers.
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