Coronavirus Lockdown: Years of Evaluation Needed, Booster Shots, and More!

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

Vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez has now changed his mind and thinks vaccination should be mandatory.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1510275/galvez-now-favors-making-covid-19-vaccination-mandatory

National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. is now in favor of making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory in the country.

Galvez said Thursday that such a policy will ensure that the public will be safe from the severe respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

“Yes, I’m in favor. Nakita natin ‘yung higher interest [of being vaccinated] in the pandemic. Everyone is not safe if everyone is not safe, meaning kapag lahat tayo vaccinated, doon lang tayo magkakaroon ng safety and protection,” he said in an interview over ABS CBN News Channel.

(We see that there is a higher interest in being vaccinated in the pandemic. We will only be safe when everyone is vaccinated.)

Galvez earlier thumbed down proposals to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory, citing vaccine supply problems.

He, however, said a law should be enacted in order to enforce it.

“Talagang we’re at risk if we will not vaccinate everybody and we’ll have a sizable amount of 20 million people roaming around, those anti-vaxxers roaming around, it will threaten those that are vaccinated,” Galvez said.

If the vaccine works how exactly do the unvaccinated place the vaccinated in any danger? They don't and the relationship problem is that the vaccine is not effective. Despite being vaccinated one can still become infected. Not only that but the vaccine loses what little effectivity it does have.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1510360/octa-research-warns-spike-in-covid-cases-if-booster-shots-not-given

COVID-19 cases in the country could again increase rapidly if booster shots will not be administered to Filipinos, considering the waning efficacy of vaccines, OCTA Research said Thursday.

OCTA Research fellow Guido David cited a theory that other countries experienced a resurgence of cases since the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines has already diminished.

“There is one, I would say, a small concern na nakikita natin (that we see) in other countries. It’s the waning of the vaccine efficacy after a period of six to nine months, and there is a theory na kaya nagkaroon ng (the reason why there are) spikes in some countries after six months is because of the waning efficacy,” he said at the Pandesal Forum.

“Ibig sabihin, once the vaccines start losing their effectiveness, we may see more outbreaks. That is possible. That is why we support having the booster shots even before it happens,” he added.

The Philippines is not even halfway to their vaccination goal and people are already talking about booster shots. And after that? Will there be booster shots every six months?

Its not only Galvez who has changed his mind about making the vaccine mandatory. Now the DOH is spouting that same line.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1511127/doh-now-considering-mandatory-vaccination

“Now [this is] one of the things we are looking at because we will never achieve the immunity needed by our population if there are still sectors of society that remain unvaccinated,” Vergeire said.

“One of the ways we can do this is to make it mandatory,” she said during a press briefing.

But she also said that people had the “moral obligation” to protect themselves, their families and communities, and the “whole population” against COVID-19. Vergeire added, however, that vaccination could not yet be mandated because the vaccines then were at the “developmental stage.”

"Moral obligation." That's the phrase that will disarm the public and make them not kickback against the government forcing people to take a vaccine they don't want for a virus that has an almost 100% recovery rate. Even more insidious than a law mandating vaccination is establishments such as supermarkets and government programs requiring vaccination in order to participate.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/809864/dilg-wants-no-vaccine-no-subsidy-for-unvaccinated-4ps-beneficiaries/story/

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is looking at how it can implement a “no vaccine, no subsidy” policy for unvaccinated beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Interviewed on Dobol B TV on Saturday, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said that many 4Ps beneficiaries still refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

With this, the agency is proposing to “disincentivize” the unvaccinated government aid recipients.

(The 4Ps is called conditional cash transfer because before you can get your regular subsidy from the government, you have to meet certain conditions.)

(You go to a health center, you undergo deworming, your children are in school and are enrolled. So we will add another condition which is vaccination.)

The DILG official said the proposal not to give cash grants to unvaccinated 4Ps beneficiaries was already submitted to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Malaya said the government is also looking at the legal issues which could affect the implementation of the proposal since conditional cash transfer is already institutionalized.

(We are studying the legal issues because we are in a public health emergency. Those from the DWSD said that the health component of 4Ps is flexible… Our lawyers are already studying this.)

If you already have to deworm yourself to get benefits then it is not unreasonable to mandate the vaccine. It is a slippery slope and sooner or later those who remain unvaccinated will be shunned from society.

Just how much longer will the pandemic go on? How about 3-5 years.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/809736/doh-years-of-evaluation-needed-before-declaring-covid-19-endemic/story/

The Philippines must conduct a three- to five-year evaluation before declaring that COVID-19 has become endemic in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday. 

At a media briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the evaluation will be conducted with the World Health Organization (WHO). 

"It's about three to five years of observations, of notations, of taking blood tests or taking swabs kung COVID 'yan [if it’s COVID] among the general population," Vergeire said. 

(We use certain criteria in order to declare that a virus is already endemic in an area. We cannot say it is endemic just because cases are going down.)

Who could stand 3-5 more years of this pandemic and all the burdensome health protocols? The so-called new normal is not looking anything like normal. Imagine being required to wear a facemask while singing karaoke.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1510872/videoke-bars-can-operate-under-alert-level-2-patrons-urged-to-sing-with-masks-on

Now that entertainment businesses like videoke bars are allowed to open in areas under COVID-19 Alert Level 2, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has this piece of advice to those who are ready to belt it out: Better sing with a face mask on.

Roque said karaoke bars in areas placed under Alert Level 2 are allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity for fully vaccinated customers. The employees and workers of these establishments have to be vaccinated as well.

(For me, we still have to be careful. If you can sing with your face mask on, then do that because despite wanting to help our industries recover, we do not want for these to become superspreader events.)

(If you can sing with your face mask on although maybe it is not a requirement if there is enough space between the person singing and their friends. But it would be better if you sing with your face masks on.)

Vaccines are not mandated by law but in Baguio City only vaccinated drivers can operate taxis, jeepney;s and buses.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/810158/only-vaccinated-drivers-allowed-to-operate-in-baguio-city-starting-nov-10/story/

Drivers who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer be allowed to ply Baguio City's mass transport routes starting November 10, GMA's Unang Balita reported Tuesday.

In an advisory, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said only vaccinated drivers of public utility jeepneys, taxis, and UV Express, even those who received their first dose,  will be allowed to operate in the city to protect the riding public against COVID-19. 

Drivers of essential and non-essential cargo vehicles are not included and will continue to be afforded unhampered passage. 

Based on the directive, if the driver is not vaccinated, whether Baguio resident or not, he or she will be taken to the Baguio Athletic Bowl to get a drive-thru vaccination.

What about passengers though? Will they be required to be vaccinated? It would only make sense. It's not as if there is a huge anti-vaccine contingent in the Philippines. Already 30 million people have gotten the jab. Anyone who has not been stabbed yet can go to the closest Jolibees or McDonalds.

https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2021/11/10/204152/rare-team-up-jollibee-mcdonalds-offering-branches-as-covid-19-vax-sites/

Jollibee and McDonald’s Philippines have offered their restaurants as COVID-19 vaccination venues to encourage more Filipinos to get inoculated against the coronavirus and to assist the government in meeting its target.

Their nationwide branches will participate, with a focus on Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and other key cities outside Metro Manila.

The initiative, if proposed, will run for two weeks in November to help local government units (LGU) administer COVID-19 vaccines to Filipinos, including teenagers.

The restaurant brands will work with LGUs where their branches are located. The government units will be responsible for implementing the vaccination program, including their storage and disposal.

“Our teams can work with the DOH regional offices to ensure safety measures and proper implementation of the vaccination in the identified stores to be used as vaccination sites. We expect that we can achieve 150 to 300+ jabs per day depending on the location, size and store layout,” Pepot Miñana, chief sustainability and public affairs Officer of Jollibee Group, said.

The proposal has been endorsed by National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez and deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon to LGUs all over the country.

Come for the Jollibee burger and stay for the shot. This program will only last two week and is only in Luzon. Those in Cebu will have to go elsewhere and if they are government employees they better hurry. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1512760/no-vax-no-christmas-bonus-for-cebu-city-govt-workers

They better be vaccinated when the City Hall “Santa Claus’’ comes to town.

Acting Mayor Michael Rama wants to play Santa to more than 5,000 city government employees, but there’s a catch: They all have to get inoculated against COVID-19 before they can receive a P20,000 Christmas bonus each.

As in Christmases past, the city government has set aside a sizable amount for the bonus of regular and casual employees in December this year. But Rama said the P100-million fund will be released only if all the employees are vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Giving bonuses is a prerogative of the city government. We may grant it or not,” he said after last Monday’s flag-raising ceremony at City Hall. “I am very serious. I won’t release the bonus until all city employees will be vaccinated.”

Job order employees are not entitled to a bonus, but will receive a “gratuity pay” of P3,000 each.

Every single city employee has to be vaccinated in order for anyone to receive a bonus. That's a great way to pit everyone against each other. The Palace is just fine with this decision.