Coronavirus Lockdown: Don't be Talkative, Make COVID-19 Booster Shot Mandatory, and More!

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

Have you gotten vaccinated yet? Don't worry. The DOH wants you to know it's not mandatory.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1624162/doh-covid-19-vaccination-still-not-mandatory

COVID-19 vaccination, even the administration of booster doses, remains voluntary, the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday.

The health agency’s remark came after state-run Philippine News Agency published a story, saying that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. required the first booster shot, heeding the DOH’s proposal.

(Our government and the agency have not issued any statement that vaccination is mandatory. We also did not give any statements that boosters will become mandatory. That is not in our direction and that is not in our pronouncements.)

(What we are saying is we have to improve our booster doses uptake in the country because we, and even our experts, are saying that our immunity for our population is already waning.)

Meanwhile, Vergeire said that redefining the term “fully vaccinated” to include the first booster shot is still under review.

It's kind of odd that Marcos would say that boosters are required if the DOH did not make such a statement. 

Marcos wants the DOH to study the alert level system.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/07/08/2194014/marcos-wants-further-study-covid-19-alert-level-scheme-doh

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Health to further study the COVID-19 alert level scheme being implemented by the government, the agency said Friday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the alert level system was discussed during the department’s meeting with Marcos.

(He had some form of guidance for us. He had comments and analyzed our current metrics. He also gave us an instruction to further study this alert level [system] for it to be more appropriate in our situation.)

What "appropriate in our situation" means is not clear. The government continues to fear monger about surges even though the virus is not deadly at all unless you are already sick. Marcos is living proof of this fact.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1178605

Despite testing positive for Covid-19, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is doing fine and continues to work in isolation, giving out directives to his cabinet officials in the comfort of his home, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles on Sunday said.

Angeles said the President was visited Saturday afternoon by his lead physician, Dr. Samuel Zacate, who noted that the chief executive has greatly improved with only mild symptoms with “no fever, no loss of taste and smell sensation.”

Zacate’s physical examination indicated that the President’s throat was clear of any inflammation and most important, there was “no sign of respiratory distress or pneumonia.”

“His personal doctor, Dr. Zacate, reported Saturday that the President is doing well and very much in stable condition,” Angeles said.

To recall, the President tested positive for Covid-19 in an antigen test Friday, July 8.

At the time, he was experiencing mild fever, nasal stuffiness, nasal itchiness and mild occasional non-productive cough.

Marcos is a healthy man in his 60's and he is doing fine despite having this allegedly deadly virus. What more proof do we need that the pandemic is nonsense? Marcos thinks face masks could soon be optional if the vaccination campaign meets its goals. The DOH calls it "a wall of immunity."

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1624859/marcos-says-govt-could-make-face-mask-optional-if-booster-rollout-becomes-successful-situation-very-safe

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the government could make the wearing of face masks optional only if the booster rollout is successful and it’s clear that it’s already safe to do so.

Marcos made the remark as he encouraged the local government units to conduct large-scale immunization drives for booster shots targeting school children to safely resume face-to-face classes and fully reopen the economy.

(Let’s do this so we can ensure that, and once our booster shots become successful, we would see that, maybe, we could lower the alert levels, and we could also make face masks optional.)

(But we will not do that until it’s very clear that the situation is really safe. Because, so far, the situation is good, our hospitals are not getting full. But if we are not careful, we could return to the old situation.)

Marcos also said ramping up booster administration is necessary to prevent another lockdown.

(Let’s do this booster rollout and we will be assured that there will no longer be lockdowns. We really don’t want lockdowns. So this will serve as our counter against the spread of Omicron and its variants.)

Why is he talking about potential lockdowns? I thought we were past that. It's because the government is using fear mongering tactics to induce people to get vaccinated and boosters. Right now 40 million vaccinated Filipinos have declined to get a booster shot.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1624281/around-40-million-eligible-filipinos-yet-to-receive-1st-booster-shot-doh

Around 40 million eligible Filipinos have yet to receive their first COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.

According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, around 55 million Filipinos are eligible to receive their first booster shot.

Of this number, only 15.2 million Filipinos have received the booster shot against COVID-19.

“We are looking at around 40 million eligible Filipinos who are still yet to receive their booster shot,” Vergeire said during the Laging Handa briefing.

Vergeire said the health department has presented to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. their strategy to increase the vaccination rate in the country.

(We will bring the vaccines to communities. We will go to far-flung areas and to our fellow citizens who really cannot access our vaccination sites.)

(We will go house-to-house for our senior citizens and of course, we will be mobilizing and asking for help from our Department of Education, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and other government agencies so this will be a whole-of-government approach.)

What's the best way to get these people to get a booster? Make it mandatory.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1625717/fwd-high-time-to-make-covid-19-booster-mandatory-infectious-disease-expert

The COVID-19 vaccine booster dose should now be made mandatory to boost the protection of more Filipinos amid the rising number of infections, an infectious disease expert said Monday.

Dr. Rontgene Solante, a member of the Department of Health (DOH) technical advisory group, said the Philippines’ uptake of booster shots is low compared to neighboring countries like Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, which have reached the 50% mark.

The Philippines so far has only reached 20% of its target population. 

(Our booster uptake is very low, so I think it’s high time we must mandate the booster vaccination to the general population.)

Solante said another reason to mandate booster shots is the upcoming opening of face-to-face classes, which is eyed in November, as well as the opening of the workplace.

“Kailangan mandatory na siguro para lang ma-increase natin ang protection, especially now we are preparing for the face-to-face classes in November and workplaces are also open now,” he said.

Solante said he thinks the  “weak surge” of infections predicted by independent monitor OCTA Research Group is “starting now,” given the current spikes in COVID-19 positivity rates.

Wouldn't this necessitate getting the first shot and thus being vaccinated in toto mandatory? 

Want to stop the spread of the virus? Stop talking!!

https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/12/learn-to-live-with-covid-19-dont-be-talkative-pimentel-says/

Learn to live with the Covid-19 virus. Don’t be talkative.

Former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel gave this advice as there are reports now that even those who get sick from the existing new Covid-19  variants are not even immune from the other variants out there today.

Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday said his administration would ramp up the administration of an anti-coronavirus booster shot to children since the government plans a 100 percent face-to-face classes this year.

Vice President Sara Duterte was reported intent in  imposing full in-person classes by November.

Senator Pimentel is expected to be the Senate Minority Leader when the 19th Congress begins on July 25. 

‘’Learn to live with the Covid-19 virus (just as we, the human race, are currently living with around 3,000 other viruses out there), and observe basic health and precautionary measures: wear mask, keep distance, be healthy, be clean and hygienic. Don’t be talkative,’’ he said.

Pimentel, however, said there are reports now that  even those who get sick from the existing new Covid-19  variants are not even immune from the other variants out there today.

‘’That means that the supposed to be ‘‘natural immunity’’ from the variants does not work against the other variants out there. Now, these vaccines and boosters were formulated with the non-variant and the ‘’earlier variants’’ of Covid-19 in the mind of the scientists,’’  he said.

‘’How then can we expect these vaccines and boosters to provide ‘’artificial immunity’’ to the new existing variants for which even ‘’natural immunity’’ from actual infection does not even work?,’’ he asked. 

Did he just admit that the vaccines are worthless??  

Vaccines are not mandatory but that does not mean they are not required to do your job as a teacher without shelling out enormous expenses to make sure you are not infected. Not that vaccines prevent infection but that is no big deal for this government. Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia is giving free antigen tests to unvaccinated teachers to offset those expenses.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/452784/unvaxxed-teachers-in-cebu-province-to-get-free-antigen-test-kits

Teachers in Cebu province who remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 will be receiving free antigen tests.

This after the Capitol turned over to the Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd-7) at least 10,000 antigen test kits last Tuesday, July 12, 2022.

A report from Sugbo News, the Capitol’s media arm, stated that the Capitol received at least 10,000 antigen test kits as a donation from a private firm.

The province, in turn, turned these over to DepEd-7 during a brief meeting and turnover ceremony last Tuesday. 

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said the donations will spare unvaccinated teachers from shelling out their own funds to get tested for COVID-19, a requirement for unvaccinated teachers before entering school premises. 

“You will be given priority. You will be able to take the antigen test for free,” Garcia was quoted on saying. 

Garcia thanked Limdaqui Trading Inc. for providing the free antigen test kits. 

Earlier this year, the governor reissued a memorandum, instructing local government units in the province to ensure COVID-19 vaccination will not be a prerequisite for government transactions, including the hiring of teachers and student admissions. 

Garcia has been vocally opposing policies that make COVID-19 vaccination status a requirement in employment and education, saying it’s discriminatory and ‘ran contrary to the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021’.

Are there other unvaccinated workers who are being given this kind of assistance? For all of Garcia's opposition to mandatory vaccination this is practically an admission that it is mandatory.