Coronavirus Lockdown: Worst is Over, Barred From Vaccine Trials, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.

The pandemic is not going to last forever which is why some are urging the government to make an exit plan.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/27/22/ph-govt-urged-to-begin-pandemic-exit-plan

Some experts have called on the Philippine government to come up with a pandemic exit strategy that would relax restrictions in the country.

Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion and OCTA Research fellow Fr. Nicanor Austriaco urged the government's pandemic task force to take initial steps in taking the Philippines out of a "pandemic mindset."

"It is time for the national government to transition our people from a pandemic to an endemic mindset," they said in a letter issued Jan. 26.

Opening up the country to the world by easing and simplifying travel restrictions will redound to many downstream benefits to the economy, they said.

To date, only the Philippines, Myanmar, and Japan have the strictest travel restrictions, Concepcion said. 

“The rest have either lifted curfews and stay-at-home orders, opened their borders to non-citizens and non-residents, and have allowed all or most commercial flights to the country," he added.

Concepcion said the country’s travel restrictions could be further relaxed without compromising safety by scrapping facility-based quarantines and instead requiring only home quarantines.

“The next few months will be critical in how the country will move on from the pandemic,” Concepcion said. 

“I believe the government should set an example and start opening the country to the world. This will instill confidence in the vaccines and encourage more of our countrymen to take them.”

For the government there is only one way out of the pandemic, vaccination.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166460

Vaccination is the key to the exit of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. an official of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 said Wednesday night.

Head of the NTF Strategic Communications sub-task group on current operations, Assistant Secretary Wilben Mayor, urged anew unvaccinated Filipinos to avail of Covid-19 jabs to get enough protection against the dreaded disease.

"(Once again, the government is encouraging you, the vaccine is the answer so we can fight and get out – exit this pandemic)," Mayor said shortly after the arrival of 1,023,750 doses of Pfizer vaccine at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 via an Air Hong Kong cargo flight.

The government has urged those with complete shots to avail of booster shots for added protection.

Mayor likewise reiterated that all Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective against severe and critical symptoms of the disease and help prevent the hospitalization of coronavirus patients.

If the vaccines do not prevent infection but only negate the effects of the virus then how exactly is this an exit plan when it seems they have a zero-COVID policy?

So, the economy is booming which means the Philippines has been resilient during the pandemic.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166486

Malacañang sees the growth of the Philippine economy as proof of the country's strength and resilience amid facing various challenges, acting presidential spokesperson, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, said Thursday.

The latest data from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the Philippine economy expanded by 5.6 percent after recording 7.7 percent growth in the fourth quarter, despite struggling with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic and natural disasters such as typhoons.

"We commend our Economic Team for deftly managing the economy through these turbulent times, and thank our people for their sacrifices, hard work, and faith in the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during this challenging period," Nograles said in a statement.

Based on the report, the country's annual performance slightly exceeded the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s target range of 5 percent to 5.5 percent, with a full-year 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.6 percent.

Ok, but how does this growth trickle down? Apparently it doesn't!

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1545616/covids-other-debilitating-impact-whole-families-lose-income

“Whether it is a mild or severe case, the rule in the workforce is that when you are COVID-19 positive, you can’t report for work,” he said.

“It can be mild, but the impact is destructive since the family can’t work,” he added. 

Some workers, who tested positive for COVID, can get paid sick leaves, meaning they can still receive their salaries or benefits despite being unable to work as they isolate for many days or weeks after contracting the disease. 

But some employees—as well as workers like public utility drivers, street vendors, and the like—who rely on day-to-day income or salary and have no paid sick leave, face the specter of income loss as they battle against COVID-19. 

National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa, at a recent briefing, said the employment picture was improving. In October 2021, Mapa said at least 43.83 million Filipinos have jobs. In November 2021, the figure jumped to 45.48 million.

And the vaccines aren't helping this situation at all because the vaccinated can still get infected meaning they will be forced to stay home and lose income. 

Despite the uselessness of vaccines in stopping the spread of the virus vaccine hesitancy has been decreasing.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1166496

The latest survey that showed dropped in Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy means the government's pandemic response is in the "right direction" to restore normalcy, acting presidential spokesperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, said Thursday.

The latest data from the OCTA Research Group's Tugon ng Masa national poll conducted on Dec. 7 to 12 last year, showed that only 5 percent of adult Filipinos said they do not want to get vaccinated against Covid-19, down from 22 percent in September 2021.

The OCTA survey also showed that only 2 percent of adult Filipinos have contracted Covid-19 infection after being fully vaccinated.

"This is incontrovertible evidence that Covid-19 vaccines protect us, our loved ones, and our communities from the virus," Nograles said in a statement.

"It also emphasizes that vaccination is a step towards the right direction in our efforts to restore normalcy," he added.

They really know how to twist the meaning of these numbers. How does the vaccine protect anyone for the virus when even the government admits that the vaccines do not prevent infection but only mitigate the symptoms?

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive increase in garbage, specifically medical waste. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/29/22/7-kids-who-played-with-used-syringes-positive-for-covid

Seven children in Virac town, Catanduanes who played with medical waste found in the vicinity of their village tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.  

Authorities antigen-tested the children, ages 3 to 11, after they played with used syringes disposed in the coast of Barangay Concepcion.  

A woman who was seen scolding the children for playing with medical waste was also infected. 

Concepcion barangay chief Anthony Arcilla said the children have been isolated, and given vitamins and medicine.  

They are set to undergo RT-PCR testing on Monday.  

The medical waste was first spotted along Concepcion's coast this month. 

According to barangay officials, the laboratory where the waste came from claimed responsibility for the incident and apologized at a village council session. 

So, a laboratory dumped its medical waste along the coast? And all they had to do was apologize? This sounds criminal.

Here is something else that sounds rather suspicious. 

https://www.panaynews.net/calinog-residents-barred-from-vaccine-trials/

The local government of the municipality of Calinog has prohibited its residents from taking part in clinical trials for vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Reports reached the local government that some residents joined clinical trials for Wantai, WestVac and other coronavirus vaccines being developed without proper coordination with it.

According to Mayor Francisco Calvo, Calinog had not received any advisory from any government agency about the clinical trials.

He heard that each participant was promised between P2,500 to P5,000; that at night they were hauled to hospitals in Iloilo City for swabbing then released on their own to go home.

“Allegedly, those monitored by swab tests are just sent home to commute which is a violation of the protocols on swab testing,” according to Calvo.

The mayor also said some of those who participated in the trials became positive for COVID-19.

Residents in one Iloilo municipality are participating in COVID-19 vaccine trials without coordinating with the government. This is not news as the local government urged the matter be looked into last October.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1910127/cebu/local-news/official-seeks-probe-on-clinical-trial-of-westvac-covid-vaccine-in-cebu-city

The south district councilor said he got wind of the clinical trial of the vaccine developed in China after residents inquired with him on the efficacy of the WestVac vaccine.

He said some residents were vaccinated on Oct. 9, and then were given not a vaccination card authorized by the City Government, but a card showing that they were participants in a study or trial for the “recombinant Covid-19 vaccine.”

Among those convinced to participate in the clinical trial were residents living in coastal barangays and including Cogon Pardo and Labangon.

Tumulak, along with the City Council, urged the Department of Health (DOH) as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to verify this information, saying Cebu City Government officials were unaware of what the manufacturer of the vaccine had done.

The council also asked the City Health Department to conduct an investigation especially in the city’s coastal barangays.

The City Council through Tumulak also asked Cebu City residents to wait for the DOH and FDA to explain the vaccination allegedly administered by a Chinese Medical Group so the public could be apprised of the safety and risks of the vaccine.

Did anyone care to look into this situation? It seems not. Could that be becasue China is involved and Duterte does not want to upset Xi?

Metro Manila is going back to Alert Level 2 which means the "no tax, no ride" policy will be done away with.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/01/30/2157427/dotr-lift-no-vaccination-no-ride-policy-under-alert-level-2

With Metro Manila reverting back to Alert Level 2 starting February 1, the Department of Transportation said it would also be lifting its controversial and highly-contested "no vaccination, no ride" policy in public transportation starting that same day. 

"Once we de-escalate to Alert Level 2, the no vaxx, no ride policy shall automatically be lifted," Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Libiran said in a Viber message to reporters on Sunday afternoon. 

To recall, the DOTr announced the policy in early January "to prevent a repeat of the public transport shut down [and] safeguard those that are most at risk." 

Well, that was short and pointless and caused a lot of useless grief. If this measure is so effective at stopping the spread of the virus and protecting "those that are most at risk" then why scrap it? We are still wearing ineffective face masks after all.

The OCTA says the worst of the pandemic is over.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1547712/worst-is-over-in-most-parts-of-ph-as-covid-19-cases-decline-octa

The “worst is over” in “most” parts of the country with COVID-19 cases having already peaked or is peaking, OCTA Research fellow Guido David said.

“We believe that the worst is over in most parts of the country,” David said during Monday’s Pandesal Forum. 

“We could imagine that the worst is probably over for most of the country because cases have peaked or peaking,” he added. 

“It doesn’t mean of course that it’s all clear, we should still follow health protocols as we go out. There’s still a significant number of cases…We still have to self-isolate if we’re feeling symptoms, we have to wear face masks,” he said.

They are basically admitting that the worse is not over because we still must follow the ineffective health protocols. Harry Roque said last September that he thought the worst was over and the BSP said last November that the worst was over for the economy. And then every thing came crashing down again as strict health protocols were once again enacted in January. So, I do not believe any of these prognostications about the worst being over and neither should you.