More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1740363/covid-19-vaccine-wastage-may-hit-50-million-doses-by-end-march |
To prevent this the DOH says they will intensify their vaccination program.The country’s COVID-19 vaccine wastage may reach 50 million doses by the end of March, Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire confirmed on Thursday.
“I confirm that this would be the amount if we already include those to expire until the end of March of this year,” Vergeire replied when Senate blue ribbon committee chairperson Senator Francis Tolentino asked if 50.74 million vaccine doses are expected to expire (44 million already expired and 6.74 million that are about to expire).
Tolentino further pressed if the figure may still soar due to vaccine hesitancy.
Vergeire responded: “Yes, that might happen.”
The Department of Health, however, is carrying out measures to intensify vaccine coverage, Vergeire said.
“We are doing all things possible now so that we can intervene and be able to ramp up again the vaccination,” she said.
“Unfortunately, until now, the rates are still the same but we’ve tried to integrate already the COVID-19 vaccination in our regular community programs whereby the vaccines now are more accessible to our Filipino people anytime and anywhere, they can already access the vaccines through their health facilities,” Vergeire added.
According to Vergeire, COVID-19 immunization averages 46,000 weekly.
Based on latest government data, 73.8 million individuals or 94.62 percent of the qualified population are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, only 27.65 percent of the eligible population or 21.5 million persons have received a booster shot.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1196998 |
The Department of Health (DOH) assured the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (SBRC) on Thursday to ramp up its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination campaign using new strategies to prevent more wastage.
During the SBRC's fourth hearing in its investigation into the reported vaccine wastage and the non-disclosure agreements entered into by the national government through vaccine procurement contracts, DOH Officer in Charge Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire told the committee that Covid-19 vaccinations in the country currently average 46,000 per week or 6,000 to 10,000 per day.
"We are now partnering with our national government agencies and the private sector so that we can also expand our vaccinations. Also, we have intensified our information campaign in our communities where we have partnered with local governments so that we can improve on the awareness of our people in our vaccines," Vergeire said.
She said 94.62 percent or 73.8 million of the eligible population are already fully vaccinated, which is at par with or way higher than other countries.
However, Vergeire reported that only 27.65 percent or 21.5 million took their booster shots, which Senator Francis Tolentino, chair of the SBRC, observed to be very low.
"Unfortunately, until now the (vaccination) rates are still the same. But we have tried to integrate already the Covid-19 vaccination in our regular community programs whereby the vaccines now are more accessible to our Filipino people. Anytime and anywhere, they can already access the vaccines through their health facilities," she noted.
At present, 15.3 million doses are still stored in the DOH national warehouse wherein 13,000 doses are set to expire by the end of May 2023 while the succeeding expiry date of other vaccines would be on September 2023.
"What we are hoping for, that when the bivalent vaccine comes in and becomes integrated with our Covid-19 vaccination program, we will include it as part of our dosing schedules and therefore, we are expecting that people will have their first boosters before they can avail of the bivalent vaccine. Hopefully, this strategy also will work so we can improve on our first booster shots," Vergeire said.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1740402/doh-assures-safe-disposal-of-covid-19-waste |
The Department of Health (DOH) assured the public on Thursday that the disposal of wasted COVID-19 vaccines is safe.
“The vaccines that we have procured or the vaccines for COVID-19 that we have in the country are all non-live, meaning all of these vaccines, their components had been modified, including mRNA, so the probability or the risk of having this kind of transmission even after it is buried is very, very minimal,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said during the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing.
“As far as the Department of Health is concerned, based from the standards given by the environmental bureau, the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), and the process for which this is being stored and disposed of, we can say that it is safe,” added Vergeire.
DENR Environmental Management Bureau’sHazardous Waste Management chief Gerry Sañes noted that the vaccines undergo thermal decomposition.
“It is being treated through thermal decomposition by pyrolysis by the Integrated Waste Management Incorporated (IWMI) situated in Barangay Aguado, Trece Martires,” Sañes said.
Vergeire further explained that the waste turned into ashes and chars will end up in a landfill in Tarlac.
“The process of this pyrolysis would include transforming all of these waste into gaseous components and then these gaseous component in turn becomes transformed into ashes and chars. Then after that, it is placed in drums and sealed tightly. Then after which it is brought to the landfill in Tarlac, which is also an accredited landfill,” she pointed out.
“Nowhere in this process should there be any gaps so that it will not affect the population or the communities surrounding this area where we do this,” she added.
So, injecting it is safe and healthy but disposing of the mRNA vaccine requires the strictest security because it is now hazardous waste.
The Bagoong Festival is back on in Pangasinan after a two year hiatus.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1197069 |
This town’s Bagoong Festival returns this March after years of hiatus due to the pandemic.
The main events scheduled on March 16 to 18 are the Taway-Taway Cooking Exhibition featuring Chef Stries Casallo, free guided Tour to bagoong Factories, Lingayen Cooking Competition, and the Street Dancing Competition.
Municipal Tourism Officer Michelle Lioanag, in an interview Friday, said in the cooking competition, participants will showcase the versatility of bagoong (fermented fish), veering away from the usual seasoning for vegetable dishes of "pinakbet" and "dinengdeng" to be demonstrated by Chef Casallo.
Bataoil said Lingayen’s "bagoong" industry also went through a difficult time because of the pandemic plus the strict international rule of manufacturing.
“We believe that many of the manufacturers had complied with the international standard. In fact, they are allowed to export already. But with or without export, they can survive because of local consumption. I believe the industry survives,” he said.
He added that bagoong factories here are producing export quality both in bottles and sachet form.
Lingayen is known nationally and internationally for its "bagoong" production.
"And ever since, we are producing world-class quality 'bagoong'. Therefore, we already claimed it and it is enshrined at the corner of the town plaza, World’s Best – Lingayen Bagoong, written at a big replica of a bagoong clay jar. We are aware that many other towns are also producing 'bagoong', having been born here, I am aware that Lingayen is known for the best 'bagoong' long time ago, thus we claimed that title," he said.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1197399 |
Negros Occidental province launched on Tuesday afternoon the return of the Panaad sa Negros Festival after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Set from April 17 to 23 at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Barangay Mansilingan here, the 27th edition of the "festival of all festivals" is themed "The Promise Renewed."
"Panaad" is the Hiligaynon term for “vow” or “promise".
In rites held at the Capitol Lagoon and Park here, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Negrenses are extremely grateful that through God's favor and grace, they can gather to launch the year's most awaited event.
"This year's festival is more than just the resumption of the festival we were compelled to abandon during the pandemic. This is the commemoration of our province's resilience, perseverance, hope and faith after all we went through for the past three years," Lacson said.
Speaking before Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, other provincial officials, and city and municipal mayors, the governor said he is confident the Panaad Festival will be "a huge success and will mark the revival of better and brighter days" for the province and its people.
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| https://www.onesports.ph/pba/article/10365/4-things-the-2023-pba-all-star-weekend-proved |
Coming off a three-year absence due to the pandemic, the star-studded affair returned with a vengeance. And it proved a few important things about the league and its fans. Here are four of them.
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| https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2023/03/15/245930/three-years-on-the-covid-pandemic-may-never-end-but-the-public-health-impact-is-becoming-more-manageable/ |
Three years ago, on March 11 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus first formally described COVID-19 as a pandemic.
The impact of the pandemic on all aspects of society has been enormous, but we’ve come a long way since March 2020. The toll of this novel coronavirus has been blunted thanks to responses across science, healthcare and public health.
At this point, it’s not unreasonable to wonder when the pandemic will be over. But the WHO continues to regard COVID as a pandemic. Let’s take a look back at how we got here and explore where we might be heading.
The term “pandemic” can have slightly different definitions depending on where you look. However, perhaps the most common use of the term applies to an emerging threat that is spreading across multiple countries: “an epidemic occurring worldwide”.
Essentially, a pandemic is one level above a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The WHO declared COVID a PHEIC (pronounced “fake”) on January 30, 2020.
Interestingly though, in contrast to a PHEIC, the WHO doesn’t have the power to officially declare the start or end of a pandemic. This is because the term is not a category in the International Health Regulations, an important legal instrument. However, the WHO’s labelling of COVID as a pandemic carries a lot of weight and it has become widely regarded as such.
"The WHO doesn’t have the power to officially declare the start or end of a pandemic." What can one say to that except shake your head in disgust at what has happened in the past three years and is continuing to happen.On January 30 2023, exactly three years after the PHEIC declaration, the WHO released a new statement indicating that COVID should still be regarded as a PHEIC, but noting that “the COVID-19 pandemic is probably at a transition point”. This recognizes the fact that high levels of immunity to COVID are now limiting its impact.
The transition point refers to the de-escalation of COVID as a PHEIC, which some have speculated may happen in April. Indeed, Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in December 2022 that the WHO was hopeful that “we will be able to say that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency” at in some point in 2023.
As the WHO indicate in their recent statement, there needs to be a continued focus on COVID beyond any defined end of the public health emergency. This focus must remain even as countries consider how to mainstream their disease control into more routine public health and health service infrastructure.
The COVID pandemic may never be over. However, the public health threat of this virus should continue to decline. The need to learn lessons from this pandemic ahead of the inevitable next time is essential. History has shown us that infectious diseases have the capacity to evolve and emerge unpredictably. The next pandemic may be just around the corner – and we don’t know which corner.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1741487/davao-rises-from-pandemic-beating |
There are still traces of the severe and scathing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy of this city, the leading economic hub of Mindanao.
The iconic Marco Polo Hotel has yet to operate after it shut down in July 2020 as large gatherings were called off to prevent the spread of the virus.
Prior to the pandemic, Marco Polo and other hotels in the city were kept comfortably afloat by the continued stream of tourists, mostly arriving for meetings, incentive travel, convention, and exhibition (Mice) events.
In the 11 months of 2019, tourist receipts in the city amounted to P51 billion, generated from some 2.34 million arrivals. The revenues were almost double that of P26.2 billion in 2015, or within just four years.
If not for the pandemic, the arrivals could have increased by 10 percent in 2020, based on the projections of city tourism officials then.
As the crisis continued, another local tourism icon, Apo View Hotel, closed, eight months after Marco Polo did.
Given the attractions and amenities it can offer, Davao City has been a major host for regional and national events, both by the public and private sectors.
The activities of Mice tourists spill over into other areas in the Davao Region, especially the resorts in the Island Garden City of Samal which is just 10 minutes across the Davao Gulf.
In 2019, tourist arrivals in the city accounted for at least half of the entire region.
Today, three years into the pandemic, signs of recovery are also evident. Among others, Apo View has already reopened, and the buildup of vehicular traffic in major junctions of the city, while posing a challenge to the management capacity of the local public safety agency, indicates an increased influx of people in this premier urban center of Mindanao.
While dependence on Mice was the local economy’s Achilles heel during the pandemic, the local government remains steadfast in making the city a mecca of Mice in the country in the years ahead.
And the prospects are good.
In time for the city’s 86th founding anniversary, it was swamped with Mice events that pump-primed its reentry into the market. First, the convention of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, then the Mice Conference (MiceCon) 2023, which is the country’s largest gathering of tourism experts and professionals whose work helps influence the direction of the industry’s development.
Being that so many countries prohibit their citizens from traveling to Mindanao Mice conferences will have to play a key role. But why have business meetings in Davao? Why not just keep it local and save money?
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