‘Masks, especially N95 masks, protect both the user and the public and reduce transmission, in conjunction with social distancing. Vaccination is our major weapon against this killer virus.’
UNDER Alert Level 1, when the COVID-19 cases persistently go down, the Philippines will slowly do away with the mask requirement in open areas. Special COVID-19 adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa stated during the Laging Handa public briefing last week that “unmasking” may be considered in the “new normal” society. Masking indoors is still the rule, and the situation will be re-evaluated in accordance with COVID-19 statistics. Masks, especially N95 masks, protect both the user and the public and reduce transmission, in conjunction with social distancing. Vaccination is our major weapon against this killer virus. More than 63.4 million doses of COVID-19 primary series had been administered nationwide, including those who got the single-shot Janssen and Sputnik Light vaccines. Over 10 million fully vaccinated individuals had the vital booster shot.
Disturbing news
“Tampa, Fla. – A visibly annoyed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis admonished a group of high school students for wearing face masks at an indoor news conference Wednesday, saying it was time to stop what he called ‘this COVID theater.’ The Republican governor approached the students and asked them to remove their masks as they waited for him at the press event at the University of South Florida in Tampa. The college is located in an area where the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends indoor masking due to high COVID-19 risk.”
Obviously wanting to tell the world that “he was” the greatest state governor who was ahead in the country in “defeating” COVID-19, Governor DeSantis acted like a dictator, demanding and berating the students with him on the stage to remove their masks, while some towns in Florida still had a high level of COVID-19 cases and the “CDC still recommended indoor masking due to high COVID-19 risk.”
He had no right to do that, especially in an angry manner devoid of respect, more so because of the risk, which the CDC recognized. Those students had the right to wear a cap, a gown, a mask as they so desired. This is a free country. If DeSantis had a mask mandate to reduce COVID-19 transmission at that time and the students refused to do so, he would have that right to demand them to wear masks, but not the opposite situation since that area and the nation as a whole still had a significant number of cases and number of deaths, albeit lesser than a week ago.
This is an example of a medically ignorant, misinformed leader just like many other politicians trying to be politically correct. They are one of the reasons why we have almost a million COVID-19 deaths in the United States.
“The Florida Health Department plans to recommend against COVID-19 vaccination in healthy children, directly contradicting CDC guidelines. (Tampa Bay Times).” This is one of the many confusing opposing views among our leaders that risk people’s lives, the very reason a timely national mandate on PPE and vaccination for all without medical contraindication is so essential during a pandemic, not leaving the management to the various states, whose 50 governors have 51 different ideas, resulting in almost a million deaths in the United States, the worst compared to all other countries.
Kennedy against vaccines
The other reason is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is insanely against the COVID-19 vaccines, besides all other vaccines in the past. He must be ignorant how the world has practically eradicated killer Smallpox with Jenner’s (1796) “inoculation vaccine,” and how polio has been severely reduced with the Salk (1955) and Sabin (1960) vaccines. Not to mention all the pre-school vaccine requirements the whole world is using to protect all our children and the seasonal flu vaccines saving millions in the USA alone every year. And the most current is the COVID-19 vaccines which have so far saved billions of people around the world. (WHO recommends the booster shot for more vulnerable adults with health issues for added protection.)
Erratum: In our column last week, the correct statement in the second paragraph under Health News Capsules should be: “Ivermectin, like hydroxychloroquine, has NOT been found to be effective against COVID-19.”
***
Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
