More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
Representative Janet Garin, former DOH Secretary, says any response to China's CVID resurgence must be science based.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1191978 |
Iloilo Representative and House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin on Wednesday advised concerned government agencies not to make drastic decisions over plans to reintroduce mandatory coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) tests for travelers arriving in the country and refer to science-based responses instead.
Garin expressed concern over the confusion brought about by unverified information particularly the fear that the increased number of cases could result in the development of variants of concern (VOCs).
“Before coming up with a decision on the issue of mandatory testing on travelers from China, our government can first seek some clarification with the World Health Organization and the Chinese Embassy on the real situation,” she said.
“For instance, the most that we can request is a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test before departure. Realistically speaking, we do not have the systems and processes in place, unlike other countries. Even our vaccination certificates and its corresponding IT system is chaotic,” she added.
Garin, a vaccinology expert, clarifies that VOCs is unlikely to happen in China given its 95 percent vaccination coverage.
“We should be more concerned on how to increase our vaccination and booster coverage so as to sustain the initial gains we have,” she said.
She reiterated the four benefits of vaccination -- prevent deaths; reduce severity; reduce hospitalization; and prevent mutation. VOCs happen among the unvaccinated, immunocompromised patients.
If and when the country decides on imposing restrictions, Garin said decisions should be based on science, saying closing the doors on China will turn away tourists and investors at a time when the country’s tourism is just recovering.
“Let us not lose sight of the current basis for Covid protocols and guidelines. We have shifted to deaths and ICU utilization rather than number of positives,” said Garin, a former Department of Health (DOH) secretary.
“If we base it on science, let’s see there is surge in hospital and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions, then that’s a red flag. But if there are many who turned Covid positive, but just like cold and fever only, such is not alarming. We have more deaths from non-Covid ailments and other problems because many people do not see a doctor and they do not take their maintenance medicines,” she said.
Garin has called on the DOH to brief other national government agencies, citing the lack of scientific basis of the Department of Transportation's recommendation.
She also said Filipinos should not take what is happening in China seriously, saying “we have bigger problems to face. Covid is here to stay.”
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| https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/03/23/govt-slammed-for-lack-of-proactive-policy-amid-chinas-fresh-covid-wave |
Sen. Grace Poe on Tuesday called on the government to mandate COVID-19 testing for passengers arriving from China amid the fresh outbreak in the said country.
China is experiencing a huge COVID-19 surge after years of hardline containment restrictions were dismantled last month.
According to Poe, the Philippines' "lack of proactive policies on the matter is concerning."
"The PH government should decide definitively on the matter and inform all travelers beforehand... Our experience in the past three years of the pandemic has shown that delayed and uninformed COVID-related policies are sometimes more deadly than the pandemic itself," Poe said.
The Department of Health earlier said that the country’s current protocols remain effective regardless of what variant of COVID-19 may be present.
But Poe said the Philippines must follow the move of other countries such as US, UK, France, Canada, Japan, and South Korea, which all reimposed their mandatory COVID-19 tests and other rules on arrivals from China.
Isn't she part of the government?
The DOH is doing its best to call the Feast of the Black Nazerene a super spreader event without actually saying it is a superspreader event. It could merely BECOME one if health protocols are not followed.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/01/04/prevent-nazareno-2023-from-becoming-a-covid-19-superspreader-event-by-following-health-protocols-doh-exec/ |
As the threat of the Covid-19 virus still remains, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) urged devotees to strictly follow the health and safety protocols to prevent the activities related to the Feast of the Black Nazarene from becoming a coronavirus superspreader event.
“Any event with mass gathering can be a superspreader event, it can be. But that doesn’t mean that it will really be a superspreader,” said DOH-National Capital Region Director Gloria Balboa in an interview.
“We are not saying na (that) it is really [a superspreader event], [but] it can be because of the crowding,” she added.
Balboa commended the Quiapo Church officials as they have already set up the necessary safeguards to minimize the risk of virus transmission during the Feast of the Black Nazarene on Jan. 9.
“All the health protocols are already in place so it is just a matter of implementing them. The role of our citizens, especially those who will join the celebration, is very important in terms of following the health protocols,” she said.
“As long as these health protocols are followed, then chances are this won’t become a superspreader [event],” she added.
The organizers of this event say the DOH is wrong.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1711889/feast-of-black-nazarene-activities-are-no-superspreader-of-covid-19-organizer |
A Quiapo Church official defended the Feast of Black Nazarene on Tuesday, saying its activities are not “superspreaders” of COVID-19.
According to Alex Irasga, a member of the fiesta committee and adviser for the 2023 Black Nazarene Festival, some sectors often point to the event as a key source of COVID-19 transmission.
“The science and data said the celebration of the [Feast of] Black Nazarene in 2021 is not a superspreader. You can check all data,” he said in a press conference in Manila when asked about their plan to ensure that the country’s largest religious activity will not become superspreader events.
Doctors and health authorities had warned that activities to celebrate the Feast of Black Nazarene could turn into a superspreader event for COVID-19. A superspreader event is when a virus carrier infects many others on contact, leading to vast clusters of cases.
“We are not superspreaders. We are spreaders of faith and devotion to the Black Nazarene,” Irasga maintained.
He also pointed out that other mass gathering activities, like the political rallies during the 2022 elections, were not treated like a superspreader event.
(Why were the meetings and the rallies during the elections not treated as superspreaders? Why were the sporting events and concerts not treated as superspreaders?)
(Why, then, do we consider religious activities as superspreaders?)
There was no Christmas surge so I predict there will be no Feast of the Black Nazarene surge either.
Marcos has not extended the state of calamity but the vaccination program can still continue as the EUA is good for another year.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1192187 |
The emergency use authorization (EUA) of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines will remain valid for a year after the “state of calamity” expiration on Dec. 31, 2022.
In a media forum on Friday, Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the EUA can still be used for another 12 months.
“That’s what we’re using now as basis for us to have a continuity in this Covid-19 vaccination program,” she added.
Currently, there are 17.48 million Covid-19 jabs stored at DOH warehouses.
“Under the law, if the state of calamity lapses, the Department of Health now goes through the usual mode of procurement for vaccines,” Vergeire said.
Through Republic Act (RA) 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, the DOH can obtain new stocks of Covid-19 vaccines when needed.
“In RA 9184, we have a provision there that we can negotiate procurement based on the law,” she said.
Vergeire said there are also offers of donation from other countries.
“We’re working on that so we can also receive within the first quarter these vaccines needed by our population,” she added.
Not only is the EUA extended for another year but the DOH is extending the shelf-life of expired vaccines.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1713547/doh-to-extend-shelf-life-of-covid-jabs-near-expiry |
Any takers for vaccines whose shelf life has been “extended” after their indicated expiry dates have lapsed?
Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Friday that the agency will “extend the shelf life” of about 6 million expiring COVID-19 doses in the government’s stockpile.
The government currently has 17,488,050 doses. Vergeire said, regarding the estimated 6 million doses in that inventory, that they are due to expire by the first quarter or by midyear.
But that disclosure was just a reiteration of her remarks in September last year, when she also noted that the vaccines could still be in use, after their safety has been verified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in consultation with their manufacturers.
On Friday, she said the DOH was further awaiting approval from the regulator on the “quality profile” of those vaccines.
Meanwhile, the 6 million doses have been “quarantined—meaning, we are still awaiting the evidence … of our manufacturers for us to extend shelf life,” Vergeire said at a press briefing.
Last year, the FDA extended the shelf life of more than 12 million AstraZeneca, Sinovac and Sputnik V doses.
Then FDA Deputy Director General Oscar Gutierrez had said that vaccines with prolonged shelf life remain safe and effective since their “potency” is retained.
“So, that’s what we are using now as basis for us to have continuity in the vaccination program,” said Vergeire, who also pointed out that vaccine jabs up for extension go through tests assessing their chemical and microbiological properties.
Imagine if this extension of shelf life could applied to cheese or milk or meat.
Perhaps Bong Go will convince Marcos to extend the state of calamity.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1714521/bong-go-backs-extending-state-of-calamity-as-covid-19-lingers |
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go backs the proposed extension of the state of calamity in the country while COVID-19 continues to pose a threat to Filipinos.
On Dec. 27, the Department of Health said that it had sent a memo to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. requesting the extension. The state of calamity expired last Dec. 31.
“I’m in favor of this. But it would be up to PBBM [President Bongbong Marcos] if the statement of calamity would need to be extended based on the recommendation of our health officials. I’m sure he will be guided by experts in whatever decision he makes,” Go said in Filipino in an ambush interview after personally aiding indigents in Montevista, Davao de Oro, on Thursday, Jan. 5.
Marcos has expressed his reservations about the proposed extension, saying that the country was “not in a state of calamity anymore.”
In addition, Marcos said the government was looking for ways to continue giving healthcare workers benefits even without the declaration.
But Go said Filipinos should continue to be cautious.
“For me, as long as there is COVID, times are dangerous. As long as there is COVID, we are in a crisis because we cannot see it [the coronavirus],” he said.
It looks like times will always be dangerous according to Bong Go because COVID is NEVER going away. His college Zubiri thinks the state of calamity should not be extended, not because of the science, but because it doesn't look good and risks the Philippines looking like China.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1715237/zubiri-says-extending-state-of-calamity-due-to-covid-19-not-good-for-ph-image |
Extending the Philippines’ state of calamity due to COVID-19 is not good for the country’s image, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Wednesday.
His comment seemed to back the stand of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the matter, as the head of state had previously indicated he was reluctant to extend the state of calamity declaration caused by the pandemic.
The official proclamation for the state of calamity due to COVID-19 lapsed on December 31, 2022.
(Our President has a reason for not asking us for an extension of the state of calamity.)
(First, it will not be good for the Philippines’ image, especially when tourists go online and find out that there is still a state of calamity for COVID-19. It will look like we have many cases like China in which we cannot control COVID-19 or COVID-19 is runaway in our country. It is not.)
According to Zubiri, Marcos wants “it rectified by legislation.”
“My point is, of course, our President does not want to destroy the country’s image by extending the state of calamity. He wants it rectified by legislation. So, we are going to step up to that request of the President,” The senator said.
Actually Marcos' stated reason for not extending the state of calamity is that there is no actual state of calamity, not that it would destroy the country's image. If Zubiri was serious about rectifying the Philippines' image there is a lot he could be doing that he is not.
China has been very dismissive of other nations imposing travel restrictions on Chinese tourists. BUt take a look at what they did to Marcos' retinue during his visit.
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| https://globalnation.inquirer.net/209542/tiny-bubble-constant-covid-tests-in-beijing-for-ph-delegation |
How does a President make a state visit to China while it is struggling with a surge in COVID-19 cases? Well, very carefully.
The Philippine and Chinese governments made sure President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s trip to Beijing this week would be very safe for both sides before and after the visit by requiring constant tests for COVID-19 on members of the Filipino delegation and restricting most of their movements to the hotel where they were staying.
Marcos’ seventh overseas trip as President, which wrapped up on Thursday, was unlike any of the previous six. For one, he did not meet with members of the local Filipino community in the Chinese capital.
“They are somehow disappointed because they wanted to be a part of this visit,” Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime Florcruz told reporters on Wednesday. “But we have a special situation. They understand that the trip was short and there were many protocols to be followed.”
Marcos and his delegation, which included first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and around 200 officials, staff, businessmen and journalists, were placed inside a “bubble”—The St. Regis Hotel in Beijing, which received no other outside guests during the January 3-5 visit.
Whenever members of the party leave the hotel, most of the time they were the VIPs and officials meeting their Chinese counterparts, they were required to get a swab test.
Several minutes prior to landing in Beijing on Tuesday, the presidential staff distributed N95 masks, supposedly more protective against COVID-19 than other masks, to all passengers on Philippine Airlines Flight PR001. It was a requirement by China, according to one of the staff.
Marcos had to take another RT-PCR test for a series of meetings the next day, including one with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
On Wednesday night, prior to their departure for Manila the next day, the delegation took another RT-PCR test. It was a Malacañang requirement this time. Everyone joining the PR001 flight back to the Philippines must be negative for COVID-19.
Such a test was not required before flying back home on previous presidential trips. Fortunately, the whole delegation tested negative.
Anyone who would have tested positive would be left behind and quarantined. They must test negative before flying back home.
All that testing was required while the Marcos delegation was IN the country yet China has denounced plans for Chinese nationals to undergo testing before entering a country. Very hypocritical.
Daily average cases continue to drop.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1192318 |
The daily average of new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases decreased by 9 percent from Jan. 2 to 8, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.
From 497 daily infections recorded from Dec. 26, 2022 to Jan. 1, 2023, the number went down to 447 in the recent week.
The latest case bulletin showed 3,127 new cases and 79 verified deaths.
Of the additional deaths, the DOH said 27 occurred from Dec. 26, 2022 to Jan. 8, 2023.
To date, the country has logged over 4.07 million coronavirus cases and more than 65,476 fatalities.
Don't forget Bong Go said, “For me, as long as there is COVID, times are dangerous. As long as there is COVID, we are in a crisis because we cannot see it [the coronavirus]." The facts plainly contradict this ridiculous notion.
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