News Roundup 30 December 2020
Dec 30, 2020 • 4 min Read
Health officials record 1,014 more coronavirus cases, tally now at 472,532 | PHILSTAR.COM – The country’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caseload hit 472,532 on Thursday after the Department of Health logged another 1,014 infections, after a streak of three consecutive days that the department recorded fewer than a thousand new positive cases. Among the total cases, exactly 23,793 — or 5.0% — are marked as active cases, referring to patients who are still recovering in hospitals or quarantine facilities. According to the DOH’s latest case bulletin, the total number of recoveries now stands at 439,509 after another 518 people were reported by the DOH to have survived the virus. However, the death toll linked to the pathogen rose to 9,230 after another 68 fatalities were recorded.
Pangilinan tells top officials: Create a group chat, millions of lives are at stake | PHILSTAR.COM – The inoculation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s security detail with contraband vaccines is a continued consequence of the lack of a coherent and equitable game plan to control and manage the pandemic, Sen. Francis Pangilinan said Thursday. This comes as Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana acknowledged to ABS-CBN, during a ceremony held in commemoration of Rizal Day, that the COVID-19 vaccines used by the Presidential Security Group were smuggled into the country. He also said that the smuggling was justified since the PSG had good intentions. “It is unfortunate that even though there is vaccine czar [Carlito Galvez Jr.] who I believe is capable and should be in charge of the vaccine rollout, officials are still acting individually and have conflicting explanations on legality,” Pangilinan said in Filipino. “Sabi nga sa social media dapat bumuo sila ng group chat para iisa lang ang direksyon nila (As people have said on social media, [top officials] should form a group chat so that they are in unison),” Pangilinan added. FDA chief Eric Domingo said the move was done without consulting them or the health department, and even Secretary Francisco Duque III was surprised to find about the development. Bureau of Customs spokesperson Vincent Maronilla said no communications were made to them that vaccines would be transported inside borders but stopped short of calling them smuggled, citing a lack of details. But, he recognized that if the items were misdeclared, it would be tantamount to technical smuggling — or, as defined by law in the Philippines, importing goods through “fraudulent, falsified or erroneous declarations.”
FDA to investigate vaccine mystery | IQUIRER.NET – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will investigate the inoculation against COVID-19 of government officials, presidential guards and soldiers with a vaccine from China that has not been approved for use in the Philippines. The Bureau of Customs will also investigate to see how supplies of the vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm got past inspectors at the border. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, the Army chief, confirmed the vaccinations on Monday after President Duterte disclosed them during a meeting with health experts in Malacañang last Saturday. Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante, commander of the Presidential Security Group (PSG), also confirmed that troops from the presidential guard had been vaccinated to avoid becoming a health threat to the President. The three officials did not say what vaccine was used and where it came from, but presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who also confirmed the inoculation of troops from the PSG, identified it as the Sinopharm vaccine and said it was a donation but he did not know who the donor was what the circumstances behind the donation were. On Tuesday, FDA Director General Eric Domingo told an online press briefing that he had directed his agency’s regulatory enforcement unit to investigate the vaccinations and how they happened.
Risa says gov’t must answer questions about vaccination | Manila Bulletin – Opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Wednesday government must answer all questions regarding the unauthorized vaccination of top officials and soldiers, saying a black market for COVID-19 vaccines “should not be tolerated in any way.” The statement comes after top Malacanang officials and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were reportedly vaccinated by Chinese pharmaceutical company SinoPharmaceuticals (Sinopharm) despite the lack of authority from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “This was unsafe and illegal. These vaccines were clearly smuggled through a black market, and even worse, seem to be sanctioned by the government. Ang taumbayan ba ang nagbayad para sa illegal na vaccination na ito? (Will the taxpayers pay for this illegal vaccination?) This is another whiff of corruption,” Hontiveros said. “Ano ang kwento sa likod ng ‘secret vaccination’ na ito? Sino ang pasimuno at sino ang supplier? Kung hindi si Presidente Duterte ang nagutos sa mga miyembro ng AFP na magpaturok ng unauthorized at hindi sigurado na bakuna mula China, sino sa Malacanang ang promotor ng iligal at iresponsableng aksyong ito? (What is the story behind this secret vaccination? Who is the promoter and who is the supplier? If it is not President Duterte that directed members of the AFP to be subjected to an unauthorized vaccination from a possibly unsafe vaccine from China, who in Malacanang promoted this illegal and irresponsible act?)” Hontiveros said.
