News Roundup 12 January 2021
Jan 12, 2021 • 4 min Read
‘A huge failure’: Roque criticized anew for saying public can’t be picky with vaccine brand | PHILSTAR.COM – “The government works for the people,” a former COVID-19 task force adviser emphasized on Tuesday after Malacañang said Filipinos would not be able to choose which brand of vaccine to receive from the government. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque was the subject of criticism again for his remarks on Monday, telling the public in Filipino during a briefing: “It is true that we all have the right to good health but we cannot afford to be picky because there are so many Filipinos who need to be vaccinated.” He added that the government will not force inoculation on those unwilling to receive the jabs. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque was the subject of criticism again for his remarks on Monday, telling the public in Filipino during a briefing: “It is true that we all have the right to good health but we cannot afford to be picky because there are so many Filipinos who need to be vaccinated.” He added that the government will not force inoculation on those unwilling to receive the jabs. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Tuesday similarly warned Filipinos that they would be forfeiting their priority slots if they choose not to take government-acquired vaccines. Dr. Tony Leachon, who previously warned that the government’s inoculation effort could suffer if it insists on buying vaccines “contrary to the people’s preference,” hit the lack of leadership displayed by Malacañang on the matter. “The nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are not compassionate and humble. I expect leaders to have the capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence,” he wrote on Twitter. “Spox is a huge failure,” he added, referring to Roque.
Senators score Roque’s vaccine remark, say it could cause ‘aversion’ to vaccination | INQUIRER.NET – More senators on Tuesday scored presidential spokesperson Harry Roque over his remarks that Filipinos cannot choose which COVID-19 vaccine brand they will receive from the government, with one lawmaker saying that such comments would cause “aversion” to the inoculation. “As a natural human reaction, it will trigger such aversion to the vaccination,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said in a message to reporters when sought for comment on Roque’s pronouncement. During a press briefing on Monday, Roque said the Filipino public could not afford to be “picky” with the COVID-19 vaccines citing the large number of Filipinos who need to be vaccinated against the disease. But Senator Joel Villanueva said the government should be raising the public’s confidence in the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination plan in light of a recent survey which revealed that nearly half of Filipinos are apprehensive to be inoculated due to safety concerns. “Given this, our government should be working on building confidence in the vaccine program, instead on toying around with their announcements at the risk of increasing people’s aversion to the vaccine. Likewise, regulations are instituted precisely to protect the lives of our people. It should be followed to the letter,” Villanueva said in a statement.
Children may be left out in initial vaccination; available vaccines only for adults — Nograles | Manila Bulletin – Filipino children may be left out of the government’s initial coronavirus immunization program since the currently available vaccines have not yet been approved for their use. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government would prioritize Filipinos above 16 or 18 years old in the immunization drive to attain herd immunity against the new coronavirus. The COVID vaccines, presently available in the market, can be administered to people ages 16 and older based on the information from the manufacturers, Nograles pointed out.
COVID reproduction rate in NCR up to 1.6 | Malaya Business Insight – Figures released by the Department of Health yesterday showed an alarming increase in new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, proving that its warning of a big surge in new cases due to the increased mobility of the public during the holidays is spot on. In its latest bulletin, the DOH reported 2,052 new cases, the highest so far since January 5, and raised the total number of infections in the country to 489,736. The OCTA Research team of the University of the Philippines said the reproduction rate of the deadly virus in Metro Manila is currently at 1.06, the first time it has gone up to more than 1 since December 21. “The reproduction number in National Capital Region has increased to 1.06, greater than 1, indicating that new COVID-19 cases is now on an upward trend,” said OCTA. “The last time the reproduction number was above 1 was on December 21, when it was at 1.02.” Reproduction number indicates the possible number of people being infected by a sick person at a specific time. The World Health Organization has long stated that the goal is for the reproduction of COVID-19 to less than 1. OCTA said the reproduction rate has been steady at under 1 during the holidays due to the limited testing of laboratories. “It has remained below 1 throughout the holiday season as testing was reduced by more than 40 percent,” OCTA said.
