"Haste makes waste."
"Haste makes waste."
For countries like the Philippines desperately waiting for a vaccine against COVID-19, this is bad news, Santa Banana!
Reuters reported that AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine trials remain on hold in the United States, pending an investigation into a serious side effect observed in Britain.
AstraZeneca reportedly said it had restarted its trial in Britain after regulators completed their review of a serious side effect.
My gulay, this was the first indication that the US trial will remain on hold until the US Food and Drug Administration and safety panel investigate the case.
According to Reuters, enrollment in the trials for the vaccine – which was developed with researchers at the University of Oxford – was put on pause on September 6, Reuters added.
Sources told Reuters that enrollment of new patients and other trial procedures for the pivotal US trial were being rescheduled. It is not clear how long the US FDA would take to complete its probe.
Santa Banana, this should serve as a warning for President Duterte and the Department of Health to be cautious about the reported trials of the Russian vaccine. They should wait until the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Philippine Food and Drug Administration are certain of the effectivity of the vaccine.
Haste makes waste!
More than half of adult Filipinos recently surveyed by the Social Weather Stations said the worst was yet to come because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a 10-point increase from 47 percent to 57 percent in July this year.
The SWS survey, conducted via mobile phone from July 3 to July 6, revealed those who feared that the worst was yet to come lived in Metro Manila (70 percent) followed by those in the Visayas (61 percent).
This could only mean that the general feeling of Filipinos is that the crisis could last longer.
This is not encouraging at all about the future especially so since the Christmas season is fast approaching. Santa Banana, we may yet have the scariest season in Philippine history, my gulay!
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I have asked some of my friends and relatives about their reaction to the government easing of the health protocol on social distancing in public vehicles.
Most of them believe that the reduction of the social distancing protocol from one meter to ¾ of a meter could lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases especially in the National Capital Region.
While this easing of the social distancing protocol could mean more people going to work because more could be accommodated in jeepneys, buses, and trains, this is not really the solution. They should instead increase the number of public utility vehicles plying the streets.
Santa Banana, even members of the cabinet are not in total agreement with the decision of the Department of Transportation in cutting short the social distancing protocol.
It has been reported that when the IATF or Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases considered the easing of the social distancing protocol, the Cabinet members were not in unison.
Honestly, I am wary of what will happen in the coming days. My gulay, there could be another spike in COVID-19 pandemic cases when people become complacent and believe that the COVID-19 pandemic is being flattened.
**
Santa Banana, I don’t know what Ombudsman Samuel Martires is trying to prove by restricting access to public officials’ Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth. He requires the consent of the statement’s owner.
My gulay, the law is very clear that “A public officer or employee, shall upon assumption of office and as often thereafter as may be required by law, submit and narrate under oath of his assets, liabilities, and net worth…”.
The word “shall” tells us that this is a constitutional mandate and should be complied with by every public officer and employee. It cannot be restricted by anybody since it’s in the Constitution.
So why is the Ombudsman saying that SALN owners must first give their consent? That is in fact a violation of the Constitution.
In other words, public officers and government employees can literally get away with murder. They can hide under that restriction of the Ombudsman.
**
On my 93rd birthday last September 15, I received over 200 greetings from relatives and friends alike. I thank you all from the deepest recesses of my heart.
