Vaccine arrival has led public complacency in observing health protocols – WHO
(Eagle News) — “Vaccine optimism” that led to public complacency and lax observance of minimum health protocols in the country, coupled with the presence of the three highly infectious SARS-CoV2 variants, are the primary reasons for the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, according to the World Health Organization’s country representative.
“The one factor is what I would like to call vaccine optimism. It’s the fact that the arrival of the vaccines and the optimism that the vaccines brought have resulted in a decreased compliance in the public health measures,” said Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO country representative in the Philippines.
The WHO official said that “the presence and circulation of multiple new variants” in the country such as the United Kingdom variant or B.1.1.7, the South African variant or B.1.351, and the Brazilian variant or the P.1, is also a major factor in the spike in COVID-19 cases especially in the Philippine capital, Metro Manila.
These variants “have been associated with increased transmissibility,” he noted.
Dr. Abeyasinghe, however, said that this is also observed in other countries which are currently dealing with a new wave of COVID-19 cases.
He also stressed the importance of having all health workers or medical frontliners vaccinated against COVID-19. He assured that more vaccine shipments from WHO’s COVAX Facility would be arriving in the country.
The Philippines has some 1.7 million health workers nationwide. So far, there are over 216,000 health workers who have already been given COVID-19 jabs in the Philippines.
-DOH to study re-deploying vaccines from other regions to Metro Manila-
The Department of Health is still studying the suggestion to redeploy the life-saving vaccines from other regions to Metro Manila which has so far exhibited the highest rise in cases.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that they will identify regions which have the lowest COVID-19 cases, and consider re-deploying vaccines initially allocated in those regions to Metro Manila.
Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega earlier said that more than half of active cases in the country are all in Metro Manila.
Health authorities again reminded the public to strictly observe minimum health protocols amid the increased transmission of the COVID-19 virus and the rise in new variant cases.
(With a report from Madelyn Villar Moratillo, Eagle News Service)