News Roundup 28 May 2022
May 28, 2022 • 4 min Read
Private hospitals: COVID-19 admissions ‘manageable’ despite rise in cases | PHILSTAR.COM – An association of private hospitals said Saturday that they can still handle COVID-19-related admissions, describing these as “manageable” amid the reported rise in infections. “There was a slight increase in admissions, but it has been manageable. There are many times when admitted patients are symptomatic, but [the manifestations] are not that severe,” Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPi) President Dr. Jose Rene De Grano said in Filipino during an interview with Laging Handa on Saturday. Health authorities earlier said that the COVID-19 reproduction rate in Metro Manila rose to 1.25 on May 23, up from 1.05 recorded from May 13 to 19. The Department of Health, however, said that this “slight rise” in cases is not yet a cause for concern, as virus transmission remains slow and hospitals can still manage the admissions. The COVID-19 reproduction rate refers to the number of new infections which come from a single case. Vaccinations against COVID-19 are underway, with more than 69.1 million people in the country inoculated. The state hopes to fully vaccinate 77 million eligible individuals before President Rodrigo Duterte steps down from office on June 30. By end-June, around two million COVID-19 vaccine doses will expire if they are not used by then. DOH earlier submitted a demand forecast of 34 million doses to replace Sinovac, AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs which are expired or near expiry. The COVAX facility, backed by the World Health Organization and Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, is mulling over replacing expiring shots procured by the government and private companies. The Philippines logged an additional 207 cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing up the country’s caseload to 3.69 million, according to DOH estimates. Over 2,400 of these cases remain active, while more than 60,400 deaths have been recorded.
No FDA approval yet for monkeypox antivirals — DOH | PHILSTAR.COM – Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Saturday that the country’s Food and Drug Administration has not yet given approval or authorization for the use of monkeypox antivirals. Several cases of monkeypox, endemic to Africa, were detected in North American and European countries in early May. To date, the Philippines has no confirmed monkeypox case, although the Health department has said it is intensifying border control measures and actively monitoring the developments. “Wala pang approval ng FDA natin. Wala pang emergency use authorization (EUA). Ito ‘yung mga legal na batayan para makapagpasok ng mga antivirals against monkeypox,” Duque said in an interview with Dobol B TV on Saturday. (“The FDA has not given its approval. There is also no emergency use authorization yet. These are the legal basis which will allow for the import of antivirals against monkeypox.”) On Friday, DOH said it is participating in talks on the possible acquisition of antivirals in case the country experiences an outbreak or if there are severe cases. There is already a monkeypox vaccine which has been developed, but the World Health Organization said it is not yet widely available, DOH said in an earlier statement. “The DOH is exploring all possible available sources and expedient legal methods for the procurement of Monkeypox vaccines,” the agency told reporters. Monkeypox vaccination is not yet part of the country’s national immunization program.
DENR admits lapses in keeping track of Coron reclamation | INQUIRER.NET – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) admitted lapses in the monitoring of a Coron reclamation project that had been “rushed” amid the pandemic. DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones also raised the possibility of filing charges if there had been violations to environmental laws in the implementation of the project that should be brought to court. “Nakikita nga rin namin iyan na mayroong kaunting lapse doon dahil dapat nakikita ng ating CENRO (Community Environment and Natural Resource Officer) or PENRO (Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Officer) in the region iyong progress noon kanilang gawain doon,” Leones said in a Laging Handa briefing on Friday. (We also saw that there is a bit of a lapse on the part of our CENRO or PENRO in the region on the progress of the project.) “Although talagang it’s hard to admit – medyo nagkulang tayo sa pagtingin doon kasi pinabilis eh. Parang ang nangyari kasi during the pandemic…doon sila nagmadali kung saan talagang busy tayo sa pag-address ng COVID-19…Noong makita natin, noong nalaman natin, talagang malaki na pala iyong nare-reclaim nila diyan sa Coron,” he added. (Although it’s hard to admit—we lacked in monitoring the project because it was rushed. What seemed to have happened is that during the pandemic…the project was rushed when we were busy addressing COVID-19…When we saw it, the reclamation had already covered a massive area.) However, he pointed out that the proponents of the project should have “faithfully” complied with environmental regulations once it received an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the agency. Earlier, the DENR cancelled the ECC for the reclamation project in Coron, Palawan over a failure to comply with the required compliance monitoring report, among others.
