MANILA, Philippines – Hindi pa inirerekomenda ng World Health Organization (WHO) na magluwag ang Pilipinas ng protocols at restrictions kahit nagsimula na ang vaccine rollout sa bansa.

Ayon kay WHO Country Representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, dapat ay matuto ang bansa sa karanasan ng iba na naunang nagsagawa ng COVID-19 vaccination. Hindi pa rin, aniya, lubos ang proteksyon ng pagkakaroon ng bakuna upang maka-iwas sa sakit.

“Yes. There is the effort for us to roll out the vaccines as quickly as possible, and vaccinate a larger proportion of the population in a very impactful manner according to prioritization that we described,” ayon sa WHO opisyal.

“But that also needs to be the accompanying adherence of the protocol because if we don’t do that, we’ve seen surges in the countries as we roll out the vaccines. So let’s learn for that global experience and not make the same mistake,” dagdag nito.

Samantala, binigyang pansin din ng WHO ang pagkakaroon ng tatlong libong kaso ng COVID-19 kada araw na naitatala sa bansa.

Nguni’t ayon kay Abeyasinghe, hindi maaaring sabihing ito ay dahil sa community transmission na dulot ng umiiral na variants na unang natuklasan sa United Kingdom at South Africa.

“We believe that it’s not entirely being driven by the new variants because the number of cases detected and confirmed as suppose to the number of samples checked limited and so we still believe there is an opportunity to strengthen preventive protocols and ensure that we don’t see a need for continuous rise of transmission within the NCR,” pahayag ni Abeyasinghe.

Muli namang binigyang diin din ng WHO official ang kahalagahan ng bakuna upang mapababa ang mga kaso sa bansa.

Sa ibang bansa aniya gaya ng Israel, nakita ng WHO ang pagbaba ng severe COVID-19 infection cases at maging ng death cases dahil sa pagbabakuna ng kanilang mamamayan.

“We do see the impact of vaccines in countries like Israel where they vaccinated a very high proportion of the eldelry, the co-morbid and of course the healed,” pahayag ng kinatawan ng WHO.

“They are showing more than 90% decline in severe disease and deaths following two doses of vaccination. This is an important lesson for us to learn and probably duplicate in other countries as we roll out the vaccines according to the prioritization,” dagdag nito.

Batay sa assessment ng WHO, tumaas ang bilang ng mga healthcare worker sa Pilipinas na nagpapabakuna dahil may dumating nang ibang vaccine brand.

Nasa 4.5 million doses ng AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines at 117,000 doses ng Pfizer BioNTech ang inaasahang darating sa susunod na buwan mula sa COVAX facility. –MNP (sa ulat ni Aiko Miguel)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has found evidence of lingering symptoms in COVID-19 patients who have recovered from the disease.

The agency calls it “long COVID” – a condition where survivors of the disease experience long-term health issues like extreme fatigue, persistent cough and exercise intolerance.

According to the international body, they will be conducting a series of consultations about this condition.

“In February 2021, WHO will organize a series of consultations to reach consensus on a description of this condition and its subtypes, and case definitions,” WHO said in a statement.

Meantime, the health agency advised patients who recovered from COVID-19 to have some follow up check ups with their health care provider to monitor their conditions.

Filipinos returning from countries with low coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases no longer need to undergo quarantine and testing, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

DOH Spokesperson Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire said the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued classification on different prevalence levels of each country for the department to determine which countries have low COVID-19 cases.

“For those low to medium prevalence countries na may COVID-19, kapag dumating ang mga OFWs dito maaari nang hindi na muna i-test. Mag-comply ng minimum health standards, they can go back to their provinces, (For those with low to medium prevalence countries with COVID-19, OFWs from those areas no longer need to be tested. Just comply with the minimum health standards and they can go back to their provinces),” Vergeire said.

However, the Health Department reiterates that Filipinos who return to their provinces still need to follow the minimum health standards and symptoms monitoring implemented in the area. Vergeire said the local government units (LGUs) will be in charge of monitoring their condition and COVID-19 testing, if necessary.

It is also under the LGUs mandate to test individuals entering their areas to prevent the spread of the virus.

“Whatever the local governments would require for them to enter into their province, they have to comply,” Vergeire said.

She added LGUs have their own guidelines for domestic travelers, including those who are coming from areas with high COVID-19 cases, such as the National Capital Region. -AAC (with reports from Aiko Miguel)