By May next year at the earliest this pandemic-hit country may start inoculating the public with COVID-19 vaccines if everything will go as planned, said Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., recently tapped to lead the importation and distribution program.
Inoculation is the act or process or an instance of introducing a pathogen or antigen into a living organism to stimulate the production of antibodies.
The government is looking to place an advance procurement of about 24 million vaccines within the first quarter of next year, said Galvez.
The initial batch of vaccines will be for front liners, indigents, and the vulnerable sectors, he said.
Should there be roadblocks on supply and demand, the latest that the program may begin is by the end of 2021, he said.
“Our vaccine roadmap spans 3 to 5 years. It’s also possible to look at the demand and supply of the vaccine. The World Bank presentation indicates that before the end of 2020, only 1.4 billion vaccines will be produced. The demand from big countries is more than that, so far. We will really have a hard time, that’s why we’re appealing to the WHO to ensure equitable access,” Galvez said.
Yuletide risk
The Philippines might see an increase in its COVID-19 cases as the holidays near, a researcher said on Thursday.
The country now ranks 22nd among nations with most coronavirus cases worldwide as it records around 1,000 daily average patients, said Prof. Guido David, member of the UP OCTA Research Team which analyzes COVID-19 data in the Philippines.
“We’re aware that as the holiday season approaches people have fatigue and want to go outside, it’s possible to face an uptick but the important thing is our response is fast so there would not be a surge,” David told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.
“We must continue to do what we do right so our trajectory will not change, we need to follow health protocols strictly. We can’t neglect these.”
COVID update
The Department of Health on Thursday reported 1,594 new COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, raising the country’s total cases to 389,725.
The additional cases for the day do not include data from 10 accredited laboratories that failed to submit results on time, according to the DOH bulletin.
The City of Manila led areas in the country that recorded the highest daily additional cases with 253, followed by the province of Cavite with 126. Davao City and Rizal both recorded 78 new infections, followed by Quezon City with 73.
The country also recorded 42 new fatalities from the respiratory illness, taking the death toll to 7,409.
MGCQ transition
DOH hopes the entire Philippines would be able to transition to modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the lowest restriction level, by the first quarter of 2021 as the country’s daily coronavirus infections continue to decline in the past weeks.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said all local government units could only enjoy relaxed quarantine protocols if they had an efficient surveillance and contact tracing system.
The public must also continue to observe minimum health standards, which is central in reducing the spread of the virus, she added.
“That’s why our target, by the end of first quarter next year, all local governments will be under MGCQ, so all of us can shift to this new normal we are saying,” Vergeire said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Infection rate
DOH on Thursday said the rate of coronavirus infection could be greatly reduced by wearing a face mask and staying in a place with proper ventilation.
Presenting different scenarios at an online briefing, Nurse Rodley Carza of the DOH’s Health Promotion Bureau said an infected person with five others without a face mask in a poorly-ventilated room for four hours could infect the five others.
Carza made the warning as he underscored the importance of having proper ventilation and wearing of face masks.
Further, he said that one infected person in a poorly-ventilated room with six people could also put four people at risk of getting coronavirus even if all were wearing face masks, but under prolonged exposure.
Refunds continue
Cebu Pacific said yesterday it continued to process a high volume of refund requests due to COVID-19 related flight cancellations.
“We have refunded an additional P300 million for a total of P2.7 billion, and are currently processing refund requests filed in June,” it said in a statement.
CEB promised to continue to provide affordable and accessible air transport services in the years to come, adding that it was working on raising fresh capital.
Pending refunds would be processed at the earliest possible time, it said.
Cebu Pacific also apologized for the delay in the processing of refunds. “As the aviation industry gradually restarts and reshapes amidst this new normal, we hope for your continued patience and understanding, as refunds may still take up to six (6) months from the time the request was filed,” it said.