THE coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is real, the Department of Health said yesterday as it denied claims made by a group that there IS no pandemic, and that the government’s vaccination program was allegedly the cause of the deaths of thousands of Filipinos.
In a social media post, the DOH flatly denied the claims of Gising Maharlika and said: “COVID-19 has been declared by the WHO (World Health Organization) as a global pandemic. As of September 20, there are 228,394,572 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,690,186 deaths because of COVID-19.”
It also said: “It is not true that vaccination kills. Vaccines against COVID-19 have been given EUAs (emergency use authorization) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as safe and effective.”
The health department likewise belied that COVID-19 vaccine is mandatory.
“Vaccination is voluntary and free. An informed consent is also required before getting their first shot,” it said.
The private group Gising Maharlika last week openly defied minimum public health standards (MPHS) and held a protest action at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila without observing physical distancing and wearing face masks and face shields.
During the rally, the group said they are not afraid of getting sick since COVID-19 is not real. They also called on the government to stop killing the people by implementing the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination program.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said 35 percent or 42,493 out of the 122,498 inmates or persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) throughout the country have already been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Of the number, Año said 14,542 PDLs are fully vaccinated – 7,473 for two-dose vaccines, and 7,069 others for single-dose vaccines.
On the other hand, Año said 27,951 PDLs have received the first dose of two-dose vaccines.
“Our goal is to have all PDLs in all our jail facilities vaccinated,” said Año, adding that the DILG and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology are in continuous coordination with the National Vaccine Operations Center and concerned local government units on the inoculation of the PDLs and BJMP personnel in 467 district, city, and municipal jails nationwide.
Año said all inmates at the Bocaue municipal jail in Bulacan and Bataan district jail are already vaccinated.
He said the regions with the highest number of fully- vaccinated PDLs are the National Capital Region with 3,192; Calabarzon with 1,853; and Northern Mindanao with 1,747.
Año urged LGUs to ensure there is sufficient allocation of vaccines for jail officers and PDLs.
“It’s dangerous to have transmission inside the jails, that’s why they should also be vaccinated,” he said.
As to BJMP personnel, Año said 14,441 out of 18,000 personnel are already inoculated. Of the number, 12,568 are fully vaccinated and the rest are waiting for their second doses.
The country received three million doses more of Sinovac vaccines yesterday, bringing the total number of delivered COVID-19 vaccines to 69.7 million doses as of September 26.
The government said 6.7 million to 7.5 million more doses are expected to arrive this week from Sinovac, Moderna, Pfizer and the COVAX facility.
Bulk of the vaccines being received by the country of late are sent out to provinces outside of Metro Manila, especially in areas with case surges.
National Task Force against COVID-19 consultant Ted Herbosa, in an interview with radio DzBB, said the arrival of more vaccines has prompted chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. to recommend the immediate start of the vaccination of minors, or those aged between 12 years old and 17 years old.
Herbosa said the vaccination of adolescents aims to protect the elders, especially those who have yet to be vaccinated or refused to be inoculated, as it will minimize the chances of spreading COVID-19 in the family if more people are vaccinated.
He said oftentimes, senior citizens prefer that the young be vaccinated ahead of them even if they are more vulnerable to get infected because young ones are perceived to be potential spreaders of the virus. — With Victor Reyes and Jocelyn Montemayor
