‘I hope we all make good use of our votes, if we are to have any hope of a quicker recovery from the gaping hole we find ourselves in.’
HAPPY New Year, dear millennials and fillennials! It’s the first week of 2022 and we are almost heading into the third year of living alongside this pandemic. As the weeks go by, the political class will continue to be consumed by the upcoming elections, while the rest of us ordinary folk concentrate on what matters to us — health, livelihood, food on the table.
But yes, if you thought that the political arena was already noisy last year, expect the volume to increase even more. Meanwhile, what’s already on the horizon as we enter 2022 (and hopefully, not 2020 too)?
The Good
Preliminary studies from other countries that dealt with the surge in Omicron COVID cases are reporting that while Omicron is more transmissible, their data shows less hospitalizations and deaths associated with the variant. While these findings may provide a modicum of comfort given our current situation, it does not change the fact that the new variant is here, and as some of us suspect, may have landed weeks prior to the announcement of the Department of Health confirming local transmission.
Another good thing is that government finally allowed those previously vaccinated to get booster shots early, something that our economic and medical front liners have been clamoring for some time. With growing evidence that vaccine protection tends to decrease over time (depending on the vaccine type) then boosters will give additional confidence to those who continue to brave the pandemic on a daily basis.
The Bad
While Omicron may mean less hospitalizations and deaths, the reality is that most Filipinos cannot even afford hospitalization, testing, nor treatment. The preliminary findings, if they hold, may mean a less difficult time dealing with the wave (as compared to our experience with the Delta variant,) it should not mean that government should be complacent about imposing the necessary measures to curb the surge. And for the love of all that is holy — this is not 2020. Government should already know by now which measures work. Even one death is one too many, and government must move swiftly to avert further cases by increasing testing and contact tracing.
This mess that PhilHealth has with private hospitals comes at a very inopportune time when ordinary folks need their health benefits to be available. It is unconscionable that PhilHealth has allowed this to go unresolved during the pandemic, but with the end of term approaching, expect the can to be kicked down the road for the next administration to deal with.
The Ugly
Despite the actual concerns of their constituents, expect our elected officials to have laser focus on their reelection bids. Sure, promises about making lives better and addressing concerns and problems will be made, but the big question remains — will they actually do something concrete about it, beyond flowery words?
A national election is a good opportunity to measure our elected officials, down to your councilors, provincial board members, mayors, all the way to President. I hope we all make good use of our votes, if we are to have any hope of a quicker recovery from the gaping hole we find ourselves in.
