DOH on COVID-19 resilience ranking: Apples and oranges

MANILA, Philippines — Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire yesterday said the country cannot be compared with other nations like the United States, following a report that the Philippines ranks last in COVID-19 resiliency.

She noted that countries have their own “context” so they cannot be compared with each other, because doing so is like comparing apples and oranges.

For instance, Vergeire said that even before the start of pandemic, the heath system in the US was “already robust being a high-income” country.

“We will always have different contexts. We cannot compare an apple with an orange. It should not be done like that. When the pandemic hit, we saw the stark difference across these different countries (where) they have the resources and the vaccine manufacturers. So definitely, these high-income countries will have the share of these vaccines,” she maintained.

Based on a Bloomberg report released on Thursday, the Philippines ranked last among the world’s 53 biggest economies in terms of COVID-19 resiliency. The country is joined by
 fellow Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in the bottom six for the third month.

However, Vergeire gave assurance that the government has not been remiss in its COVID-19 response, noting improvements such as more COVID-19 testing laboratories, quarantine facilities and vaccine doses administered daily.

Variants

After withstanding three variants of concern (VOCs) and surges in cases, the Department of Health said “no country can ever prepare for any type of COVID variant.”

“Variants are still being studied as they come. Just like the Delta variant, it’s being studied if its transmissibility is this much or if its immune escape is this much … so how can you prepare when science and evidence are continuously evolving,” Vergeire said yesterday.

Vergeire maintained that the Philippines continues to learn from experience after almost two years of battling with COVID-19.

“We learned a lot, especially with the Delta variant, which is said to be more transmissible by that much. Based from our experience, I think we are more capable (of handling them),” she added.

Currently, three VOCs have already been detected in the Philippines – the Alpha, Beta and Delta variants.

Droplets

Vergeire reiterated yesterday that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is spread primarily through droplets discharged from the mouth and nose of infected persons. There is also evidence that the virus “lingers longer in the air” in enclosed spaces.

“This is why we have been saying that having adequate ventilation is very important in these enclosed spaces to ensure the continuous flow of air,” she added.

Earlier, the Health Professionals Alliance Against COVID-19 (HPAAC) called on the government to address the “airborne nature” of the virus through the observance of “Apat Dapat” – Air Circulation, Physical Distance, Always Wear Mask and Shield and Time.

“As what HPACC is saying, ventilation standard is very important right now that we are opening our economy,” she said, adding that the DOH already recommended to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to make the “safety seal” mandatory among business establishments.