Coronavirus Lockdown: Vacc to the Future, Expect More Deaths, and More!

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

People are worried about the vaccine. That is why some LGU's are attempting to disarm them with humor and a little fun.

https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2021/04/15/189658/vacc-to-the-future-why-pasay-citys-vaccine-pun-is-considered-a-slogan-win/

Pasay City used the pun “Vacc to the Future” in reference to the popular movie series “Back to the Future” in its posters and tarpaulins to encourage its residents to receive COVID-19 jabs.

Since last March, some online personalities were proposing slogans for local government units across the country to use for their own vaccination and information campaigns.

One of them was Thysz Estrada, a creative director, who started rating some slogans in Metro Manila in a Twitter thread. “So it’s the battle of bakuna puns in LGU vaccination programs,” he wrote.

No word on exactly what the phrase means but it's fun right? Other suggestions in the article come from Reddit and include "Vacc to Vacc" and "Vaccstreet's Vacc."  All very punny puns but that's about it.

Vaccination efforts keep being implemented. As of now DOJ prosecutors have been moved up in the priority list and the DOJ also wants inmates and detainees to be high on the list as well. Media workers and OFW's have been moved up in the list too. A few weeks ago Bong Go expressed his desire to establish a Philippine institute of virology. Foreign-trained Filipino virologists want to make that a reality. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/15/21/foreign-trained-filipino-virologists-eye-return-to-philippines-help-develop-virology-center

Several Filipino virologists who are about to graduate from foreign institutions have expressed interest in returning to the Philippines to help the country develop its own virology center, an official said Thursday.

Filipino virologists have been sending messages to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) after the government announced its plan to create the Virology Institute of the Philippines (VIP), Undersecretary for Research and Development Rowena Cristina Guevara said.

"I have been receiving emails from Filipinos from outside the country na malapit na matapos abroad and they are hoping to be part of the VIP," she told reporters in an online press conference.

"There are those who really want to serve the country because it is a really good time to be here," she said.

The proposed institute is expected to serve as the country’s premier research center on virology, Science Secretary Fortunato de la Peña earlier said.

"Research studies on viral agents will focus on vector/reservoir transmission, viral ecology, clinical virology, pathogenesis, pathophysiology, and host immune response to these viral pathogens," he said.

The center would also enable Filipino scientists to "to work collaboratively to study viruses of agricultural, industrial, clinical, and environmental importance."

Most Filipino virologists have to study and train abroad as the Philippines has yet to offer the course in the country, the Undersecretary said.

Seeing as how the Philippines receives so much money from USAID and other NGOs its odd that the Philippines does not offer a virology course of study. It's also odd that despite not having such a study and no vaccine manufacturers the government is in talks with several local potential vaccine manufacturers.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1419417/govt-in-advanced-talks-with-six-potential-local-vaccine-makers

The government is in “advanced talks” with six potential local vaccine manufacturers to sustain the country’s supply needs for jabs, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) disclosed Thursday.

DOST Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said in an online media forum that the government is talking with pharmaceutical companies that have expressed intents to set up vaccine-making facilities in the country.

“These are local pharmaceutical companies. Wala pa tayong (We don’t have) local vaccine manufacturers in the Philippines. These local pharmaceutical companies are trying to come up with a new product, which is a vaccine,” she said.

That is certainly a misleading headline. These companies are, it seems, partners with foreign companies and import their vaccines. Of course developing a vaccine is a process that takes years, costs millions of dollars, and requires a many-tiered infrastructure to support the endeavor including scientists, researchers, and the facilities to in which to carry out said research. The Philippines has none of that.

With a lack of vaccines Duterte has ominously warned that the nation should "expect more deaths."

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1419915/expect-more-deaths-due-to-scant-covid-19-vaccine-supply-duterte

President Rodrigo Duterte warned the public Thursday night to expect more coronavirus-related deaths due to the continuing unavailability of COVID-19 vaccine supply.

In his second ‘Talk to the People’ address this week following his video call with Russia Pres. Vladimir Putin, Duterte bared he did not know when the Philippines would get enough COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate all Filipinos.

(We won’t be talking about vaccines if supply is readily available. But there is none. Until now, the word is ‘unavailable’. Unavailable because there’s not sufficient supply to inoculate the world.)

(This will take long. I tell you, many more will die because of this. I just can’t say who.)

Even with vaccines people will die as DOH Secretary Duque admits there is no data on how long vaccines can offer protection.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1419912/duque-no-sufficient-data-yet-on-how-long-vaccines-can-give-protection-vs-covid-19

Duque said vaccine manufacturing companies are in continuous cooperation with their research scientists to monitor the antibody protection level for each of the developed jabs.

“Not all vaccines are created equal so each one has to really monitor, consolidate the data and pursue further studies to see the antibody levels in persons who have been vaccinated by any of the seven vaccines,” he pointed out.

“We keep our ears to the ground to make sure whether there is a new report or new data to support it and when these vaccines we are now using might actually provide more lasting protection beyond six months. In general, mga (around) six months to nine months daw eh (allegedly),” the health secretary added.

They are not even sure if the vaccine that can offer protection past 6 months. So why bother taking the vaccine? Especially with a low supply and the need to revaccinate it's a treadmill to nowhere.

There is also zero data on the effectiveness of ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19. That is no stopping Senator Sotto from taking it.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/04/18/2091960/sotto-admits-taking-ivermectin

Senate President Vicente Sotto III admitted yesterday taking locally-made Ivermectin as a preventive regimen against COVID-19, which has already claimed over 15,000 lives in the country.

“I also take once every two weeks, yes, for prevention,” Sotto said in an interview over dwIZ as he confirmed taking Ivermectin in his own effort to avoid getting infected with COVID-19.

Seeing as it is illegal for people to take ivermectin one has to wonder how Sotto has obtained it. Whatever way it is definitely through illegal channels. Funnily enough the doctors treating former President Estrada refused to administer him ivermectin noting that it is "for animals."

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/19/21/its-for-animals-jinggoy-says-eraps-doctors-refuse-to-give-him-ivermectin

The doctors of former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada have refused to give him ivermectin as the drug is only for animals, the octogenarian politician's eldest son said Monday.

There was a discussion among siblings if they should administer ivermectin, former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada told ANC's Headstart.

"The doctors said, 'I will not give ivermectin to your dad because that is only for animals,'" he said.

"I really have to follow the doctors' advice," he said.

If ivermectin is for animals and Sotto is taking it then one has to ask, "Is Senator Sotto an animal?" Despite there being little evidence that ivermectin can effectively treat or cure COVID-19 the Philippines is going to begin clinical trials to test it's efficaciousness.

The Philippines continues to detect more and more variants of COVID-19. This has not thrown a wrench in testing as might be expected because all variants can be detected by tests.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1420457/as-new-virus-variants-emerge-doh-dispels-doubts-over-gold-standard-of-testing

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests, considered by the government as the gold standard in COVID-19 testing, remain “very effective” in detecting coronavirus infections, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday, following reports of the emergence of a coronavirus variant from Brittany, France, that was said to elude detection by this type of test.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire pointed out that the French variant was discovered in cases involving a very small number of people.

Credible institutions, such as Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University, have disputed the report, she said further.

“For now, they are saying that RT-PCR testing is still very effective to detect the virus,” Vergeire said.

She also explained that RT-PCR tests use different genes, not just one gene, to detect the coronavirus.

Well that is good to know but the effectivity on various strains of the virus is not known yet. Long term anyway.

The Palace says the modest decrease in cases is significant and yet Davao City is preparing for a "mega surge."

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1137345

The city government is preparing additional 891 isolation beds to prepare for a possible surge of confirmed coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in this city, Mayor Sara Z. Duterte said Monday.

Despite the decreasing number of cases, Mayor Sara said the additional beds are on top of the existing 1,993 beds at the temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMFs), where 429 are currently occupied.

“We have been preparing for the surge that is why we increase our bed capacity. Once the beds are ready, we plan to return the donated or borrowed TTMFs from private offices and organizations,” Duterte said in a radio interview.

If there are decreasing cases then why is Davao preparing for a surge in cases? What is this preparation based on? If they are expecting a "mega surge" then it is no wonder the USA has issued a travel warning for the Philippines.