An infectious diseases expert on Sunday has allayed concerns that the currently available vaccines against COVID-19 would not work against the new strain of the coronavirus from the United Kingdom (UK).
Dr. Mario Panaligan, president of the Philippine College of Physicians, said in a Dobol B sa News TV interview that a COVID-19 vaccine would allow a person to develop enough antibodies to ward off the novel coronavirus even as it has already mutated.
“We need not be afraid that our vaccine will no longer be effective because we have many antibodies we can produce when we are vaccinated,” he said in Filipino.
The new coronavirus strain detected in the United Kingdom was reported to be 70 percent more transmissible than SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. But Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said there is no evidence yet that the new strain causes COVID-19 to be more severe.
Cases fall as labs fail to send results
The Philippines on Sunday logged 883 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 469,886, as 15 laboratories failed to submit their data on time, the Department of Health (DOH) reported Sunday.
The DOH reported 42 new fatalities, bringing the death toll to 9,109, which is 1.94 percent of the total cases.
The DOH also reported 7,635 new recoveries, bringing the total recoveries to 438,678, which is 93.4 percent of the total cases.
This left 22,099 are active cases, which is 4.7 of the total cases. Of the active cases, 80.2 percent are mild cases; 9.9 percent are asymptomatic; 6.2 percent are critical; 3.2 percent are severe; and 0.43 percent are moderate.
Moderna cranks up output – Locsin
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Sunday said American biotechnology company Moderna is accelerating its production for a huge shipment of the COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines.
Citing information from the Philippine ambassador to Washington, Locsin said Moderna and another company, Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc., are willing to supply up to 25 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines in the third quarter of 2021.
Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine earlier received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration. This will enable the pharmaceutical firm to apply for an EUA in the Philippines.
Earlier, the government and private companies signed a supply agreement with British drugmaker AstraZeneca involving at least 2 million doses.
Customs told to speed up vaccine clearance
ALBAY Rep. Joey Salceda on Sunday urged the Bureau of Customs to speed up the processing of vaccines for COVID-19 and related supplies such as syringes for direct use in vaccination.
He said this would encourage the private sector to bid for vaccines alongside the government.
“We need all the vaccines we can get, and if the private sector can boost our supplies, we should make it easier for them to do so,” he said.
Salceda said “super green lane processing” would allow for single-day clearance.
Rules specific to COVID-19 vaccines may be needed to extend the qualification to reputable importers of COVID-19 vaccines, while ensuring that safeguards are in place to avoid abuse of the system, Salceda said.
He earlier called for tax- and duty-free importation of COVID-19 vaccines to speed up their procurement and rollout.
Kids banned from Rizal Park
The administrator of Rizal Park (Luneta) in Manila on Saturday said children will no longer be allowed inside the park amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and there will be no fireworks display.
“Right now, for the people’s safety, we will not allow them to go there with children,” Cecille Lorenzana Romero, park administrator, said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.
For the coming New Year, no event has been set at Rizal Park, Romero said.
“New Year in Luneta will be silent, no fireworks,” she said in Filipino.
The park will also limit visitors to 2,000 at a time and no vendors will be allowed inside the park.
Funding for vaccines not enough–lawmaker
Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor on Sunday expressed disappointment over the failure of the House of Representatives to allocate additional funds for vaccine procurement despite the P183 billion realignment made by the bicameral conference committee in the “programmed” or tax-funded portion of the proposed P4.5 trillion national budget for 2021.
He said Congress maintained the vaccine acquisition fund at P2.5 billion as proposed by Malacañang, and that the P72 billion augmentation fund was placed under the “unprogrammed items” in the 2021 national budget or programs that can be implemented only if there are available funds.
Meanwhile, House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Sunday lauded the strength and resiliency of Filipinos that he said would help them recover from the devastating effects of COVID-19. He said the Filipinos’ capacity to survive from disasters in the past, such as the powerful earthquakes and strong typhoons, would always serve as an inspiration to overcome present and future calamities and conflicts.