đź“· PTV News
THE government doesn’t seem to learn even after the pandemic nearly caused the collapse of the Philippine economy, following the admission of the Department of Health (DOH) that there isn’t any fund to buy vaccines to address the wave of infections by the so-called Flirt variants.
According to DOH spokesperson Albert Domingo, there is no cause for public alarm even as he made a sweeping claim that the primary and booster shots administered by the agency from 2021 until 2023 has “not totally lost” its potency.
“There may be some degree of residual immunity left, which is still better than having not been vaccinated at all,” Domingo said.
Admittedly though, Domingo said that the agency has no budget under the 2024 General Appropriations Act to procure updated COVID-19 vaccines deemed effective against the Flirt variants.
The official explained that budget allocations for COVID-19 vaccination are made based on an assessment of public health needs, adding that in situations where the case severity is low or mild, there may not be an urgent need to allocate funds for procurement.
Speaking of procurement, Domingo said that the DOH has resources to buy vaccine doses covering the routine immunization of children.
Vaccines are deemed crucial to the safety and protection of the elderly and the immunocompromised persons from the rapidly growing infections attributed to the Flirt variants.
OIronically, the DOH – through the Bureau of Quarantine – announced the implementation in all entry points of strict screening for passengers coming from countries known to have recorded cases of Flirt variants.
New strains have been detected in Singapore, Thailand, India, China, Hong Kong, Nepal, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and 14 countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom.
The World Health Organization (WHO) hinted earlier that the Flirt variant may require prioritized attention and monitoring by the government. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
