News Roundup 06 January 2021
Jan 06, 2021 • 4 min Read
COVID-19 cases in Philippines exceed 480,000 with 1,047 new infections | PHILSTAR.COM – The country now has more than 480,000 cases of the new coronavirus after health authorities recorded 1,047 more infections Wednesday. To date, 480,737 people have had COVID-19 in the Philippines nearly a year after the Department of Health reported the country’s first confirmed case: a 38-year-old woman from Wuhan in China, where the virus originated. For the past three days, the DOH reported daily cases fewer than 1,000 as a result of the decline in the number of people who sought COVID-19 testing during the holiday season. Recoveries reached 448,700 after 339 more people were given a clean bill of health. But fatalities due to the respiratory illness increased to 9,347, up by 26 from the previous count. Of the 22,690 active cases, 81.8% exhibit mild symptoms, 8.5% are asymptomatic, 6% are in critical condition, 3.2% are severe cases and 0.52% have moderate symptoms.
AstraZeneca applies for COVID-19 vaccine emergency use in Philippines | PHILSTAR.COM – British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca has applied for emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines, local regulators said Wednesday. The development brings the number of vaccine manufacturers seeking regulators’ approval to two, following Pfizer, which submitted theirs in late December. Director General Eric Domingo of the Food and Drug Administration told Philstar.com in an exchange that the agency would take between three to four weeks to approve the EUA, “depending on the completeness of their submission.” Securing FDA’s nod would not automatically mean that doses of the vaccine would be immediately available to the country, as it still has to secure a deal for doses with the drugmakers. Full clinical trials abroad have shown that AstraZeneca’s jabs have a 70% efficacy rate on average. At P610 in two doses, it is the second cheapest vaccine among those being eyed for purchase in the administration’s bid to secure jabs that have stirred concerns that it was late into the global race. Compared with Pfizer, it also only needs to be stored at normal fridge temperatures at around two to eight degrees Celsius.
Senate probe into COVID-19 vaccines still on despite Duterte threat | INQUIRER.NET – The Senate will proceed with an inquiry into the government’s vaccination program despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat of a “crisis” if the senators insist on questioning his military bodyguards about their inoculation with a candidate vaccine for COVID-19 that is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA, National Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Customs are also proceeding with their investigation of the illegal entry into the Philippines of the vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm and its unauthorized use to inoculate troops from the Presidential Security Group (PSG). But the Armed Forces of the Philippines called off its investigation that had been scheduled to open on Tuesday after Duterte, in a televised address to the nation late on Monday, ordered the PSG commander, Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, not to obey summons from the Senate.
Each vaccine will have different degrees of safety and efficacy — DOST | Manila Bulletin – Every vaccine being developed against COVID-19 is expected to have different degrees of efficacy and safety, according to the Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD). Dr. Jaime C. Montoya, Executive Director of DOST-PCHRD, in his presentation during a Laging Handa press briefing, said that one brand of vaccine may work better for senior citizens while another brand may work better for children. “The applicability will depend on the pre-clinical and clinical results of each vaccine, hence, the need to carefully evaluate the available data,” he said. “The assessment of vaccine efficacy is complex for many diseases including COVID-19. In general, it is the role of experts, advisory committees, and regulatory bodies to assess data on efficacy of a particular vaccine, as there are scientific guidelines and recommendations being followed to ensure that the vaccine candidate meets certain qualifications,” he added. Montoya explained that the vaccines are “considered safe to be administered in humans based on the safety evaluation studies as part of the clinical trials. Approval from the Philippine FDA is also a necessary requirement prior to administering COVID-19 vaccines.”
Nearly half of NCR residents not sold on COVID vaccine | Malaya Business Insight – Amid the global scramble to secure vaccine supplies, almost half of Filipinos in Metro Manila are unsure about getting inoculated versus the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). According to a survey conducted by the independent OCTA Research Team, less than 50 percent of the 600 respondents who participated said they are still undecided if they want to be given COVID-19 vaccines. “Survey results also show that 47 percent of respondents in Metro Manila have indicated that they were not able to decide if they will have themselves vaccinated,” said the OCTA team. In addition, 28 percent of the respondents have answered that they will not have themselves vaccinated against the novel virus. On the other hand, the survey shows that only 25 percent of Metro Manila respondents are willing to get vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine.
