Following the sustained biosurveillance efforts of the government, the Department of Health, the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) and the UP-National Institutes of Health have confirmed the detection of eight additional COVID-19 cases positive for the B.1.1.7 or United Kingdom variant.
This brings the total B.1.1.7 variant cases in the country to 25. The DOH, UP-PGC, and UP-NIH further reported that no other variant of concern had been detected, the DOH said in its latest update report on the UK variant posted Friday night.
Three of the eight additional cases are from Bontoc, Mountain Province. Of the three cases, two females aged 25 and 54 were identified as close contacts of a previously reported B.1.1.7 variant case who is part of the Bontoc cluster.
The third case is a 31-year-old male whose link to the Bontoc cluster is still being verified. To date, the 54-year-old female has recovered, while the remaining two are active cases and are currently being managed.
Meanwhile, two additional cases are from La Trinidad, Benguet. One of the two cases is a 15-year-old female and relative of the previously identified B.1.1.7 variant case in La Trinidad. She is currently asymptomatic and in isolation as part of the management of contacts of the first B.1.1.7 variant case identified in La Trinidad.
The other case is an 84-year-old male who had no known history of travel nor contact with any B.1.1.7 variant case and is part of a separate cluster of cases in the city. The said case was recorded to have died last January 24, 2021.
Moreover, two of the additional B.1.1.7 variant cases are Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROF). The first is a 29-year-old female who arrived from UAE on January 7, 2021 aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR 659. The second is a 54-year-old male with a reported local address in Talisay, Cebu. Both cases of ROF have since recovered.
No seizures
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs said there were no unauthorized COVID-19 vaccines so far in the Philippines despite reports of alleged illegal vaccination in the country.
Customs Spokesperson Vincent Philip Maronilla said the agency had intensified screening the national borders for the entry of smuggled coronavirus vaccine jabs, with the seaports and airports on “red alert.”
“There are] no seizures yet of any illicit or unauthorized vaccines . . . We have beefed up capability to screen imports for the fake vaccines, but they will in no way hamper the arrival of the legit vaccine,” Maronilla told ANC in an interview.
Under the Food and Drug Administration law, the importation, sale and administering of unregistered vaccines should result in a penalty of a fine or imprisonment, but health officials earlier said they did not have information yet to hold anyone accountable.
Legit vaccines
Pharmaceutical companies, Maronilla said, have nominated their own logistics partners that would claim the vaccine upon its arrival.
“We have [a] point person and one stop shop. We also have the DND (Department of National Defense), NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) tracing the necessary permits of alleged counterfeit vaccines that have arrived in the country,” he explained.
Documents and permits will also be screened to make sure that the vaccines are original and approved by the FDA. A vaccine with no emergency use authorization from the FDA will also be prohibited from entering the border.
The bureau also upgraded X-ray machines that could check the identifying marks of the legitimate vaccines.
Vaccine doses
Meanwhile, the Philippines is set to receive 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility, most of which are manufactured by Oxford-AstraZeneca, British Ambassador to Manila Daniel Pruce announced on Friday.
Pruce said Britain funded about 548 million pounds in the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, which would help distribute vaccines under the alliance to up to 92 developing countries, including the Philippines.
“The Facility expects doses will be available for delivery starting in the first quarter of 2021, perhaps as early as February, that pending the emergency use listing from the WHO (World Health Organization),” he said in a statement.
COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and WHO.
New cases
The Philippines logged on Saturday 1,941 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019, bringing the total cases to 535,521, as four laboratories failed to submit their data on time, the Department of Health reported.
The DOH also reported 35,946 active cases. Of the active cases 88.4 percent are mild; 6.8 percent are asymptomatic; 2.2 percent are critical; 2.1 percent are severe; and 0.48 percent are moderate.
Moreover, 42 cases that were previously tagged as recovered were reclassified as deaths after final validation.
The DOH said that, nationwide, 60 percent of the total ICU bed capacity are available; 66 percent of the total isolation bed capacity are available; 76 percent of the total ward bed capacity are available; and 78 percent of the total ventilators are available.
Vaccination priority
Given the limited global supply of vaccines for COVID-19, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has adopted the prioritization framework and criteria of the Interim National Immunization Technical Advisory Group in allocating first tranches of vaccines against COVID-19 that will arrive in the country.
“Of course, our goal with the vaccination is to vaccinate every Filipino as directed by the President. However, we recognize that we are working under the context of limited global supply of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is why the IATF has resolved to adopt this prioritization framework to ensure that those who have the highest risk of exposure and death will be protected from the disease,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.
With aims of reducing COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, preserving health system capacity, protecting the populations most at-risk to the disease, slowing down COVID-19 transmission rate, and minimizing social and economic disruptions, the resolution prioritizes frontline workers in the national and local health facilities.
The framework further lists vulnerable groups—like senior citizens and those with comorbidities—as the next priority for vaccination and provides for sub-prioritization based on risk exposure or mortality risk and the process flow that citizens will undergo in the vaccination program.
Indemnification fund
While lawmakers have yet to pass a law mandating an indemnification fund for people who might experience the possible adverse effects of COVID-19) vaccines, Secretary Duque III on Friday commended all local government units that have set aside a local compensation fund for their constituents.
“They are not precluded from doing that but let me underscore that we have submitted to both houses of Congress the proposed bill – an indemnification fund legislation,” Duque said at a press conference in Parañaque City. “I commend all the LGUs who are already, on their own, setting aside funds to indemnify people who might suffer from severe adverse reactions following immunization.”
The local governments of Marikina, Pasay, and Makati have announced their plans to set aside funds to compensate their constituents who would possibly experience severe adverse reactions from the COVID-19 vaccines.