The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) urged the public to get vaccinated, as health experts say that vaccines are highly effective against the new variants of concern.
In the Philippines, 10 million Filipinos are already vaccinated, with 2.5 million of those having received their second dose.
The new version of the Delta coronavirus variant is spreading rapidly in a number of countries including the United Kingdom, United States, and India, health officials say. This new variant of concern, which has generated a significant amount of global media attention, is called B.1.617.2.1 or AY.1, Delta Plus for short, and is a version of the Delta variant first detected in India in February.
“Tuloy-tuloy ang serbisyo ng PRC sa pagbabakuna. Sa ngayon ay mayroon na tayong pitong PRC Bakuna Centers upang mas mapabilis ang pagte-test sa ating kababayan,” PRC Chairman and CEO Sen. Richard Gordon said.
In an interview, Gordon emphasized the importance of wearing a face mask and regular testing. “Always wear a face mask. PRC is ramping up our vaccination efforts and continues to test regularly, so that we can separate the asymptomatic spreaders from the healthy ones,” he said.
PRC, the leading organization when it comes to COVID-19 testing, has tested over 3.3 million tests, or 23% of tests done in the country.
Chairman Gordon cited the four most important guidelines in Fareed Zakaria’s book Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World. He quoted that we should do social distancing, wear face masks, regularly hand wash, and regularly test to slow the spread of the virus. These practices are most important as the majority of Filipinos are not yet vaccinated.
“Magpabakuna dahil ito ang ating priority ngayon, at magpatest para tayo ay makapasok na sa trabaho, sa eskwelahan, at upang mabuksan na ulit ang ating ekonomiya,” Gordon said. (PRC) – jlo
