BY GERARD NAVAL and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
THE Department of Health yesterday said it does no see a surge in COVID-19 infections in the middle of the year but stressed the importance of being prepared.
“We have not received any projection. But we are working on different assumptions, not just for the mid-year but until the end of the year,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire a day after Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., vaccine czar and chief implementer of the National Task Force against COVID-19, said the country has taken measures in case another surge hits the country in June or July.
“I think Sec Galvez was taken out of context. What he is saying is that we must always be ready for any possible circumstances that cases will rise again in the coming months,” Vergeire said.
What is more important, she said, is that the country is always prepared to respond in the event of another spike in cases.
“This is why the government continues to improve whatever capacity we have when it comes to our health system,” said Vergeire.
In response to Vergeire’s statement, Galvez said the possible mid-year surge that he warned about was based on his personal assessment of the country’s experience last year when the number of cases started increasing and eventually peaked.
In an interview, he said planning involves making different scenarios to be able to prepare and be ready for anything.
He said his scenarios or projections are not necessarily the same as those made by the Department of Health or some health experts.
“Projection ko lang iyun, kasi when you make preparations, preparation mo sa mga crisis… hindi ka pwedeng patulog-tulog… Titingnan mo ngayon, bakit nagkaroon ng trending na ito na parang the same. Titingnan mo ang ganung probabilities (That is just my projection.
When you make preparations, preparations for a crisis… you should not be sleeping… you look at why there were trends that look the same now. You look at the probabilities),” he said.
Galvez on Tuesday said he was comparing the number of cases last year and now, and observed that there was a “wave” in the number of cases which means the infections went up and down during this period last year. He said it is also happening now.
He said based on his observations of the cases in 2020, there was an increase in cases in March, which went up to April and eventually spread to other areas such as Cebu City, before it slowed down a bit until it went up by mid-year or from July to August.
Galvez said the same thing is happening in other countries like Chile and Brazil, where there is a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
He believes that until all or majority of the Filipinos are vaccinated and the spread of COVID-19 is controlled, there would be a repeated surge in cases.
He expressed belief that until Filipinos learn to live with wearing of face masks and face shields daily, and observing physical distancing, it would be difficult to contain the COVID-19.
He said Filipinos should also have strong discipline and a sense of safety to be able to protect themselves.
He added the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, even if there are reports that the cases may have slowed down in some countries. He said this is the reason the country should be prepared for all eventualities.
The government hopes to vaccinate 50 million to 70 million people by the end of the year.
The country is buying 148 million doses of vaccines with the bulk of the drugs expected to be delivered by the third quarter to fourth quarter of the year.
