The economic recovery of the country may face another setback with the reversion to restrictive protocols if COVID-19 cases will increase amid health protocol complacency and vaccine and booster hesitancy.
During Go Negosyo’s townhall meeting “Booster to the Max” on Monday, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said “it’s going to be disastrous” if the country goes back to Alert Level 3.
“We can’t afford two problems at the same time,” he said, referring to the Ukraine crisis which has affected economic recovery and the waning immunity that may push COVID-19 cases to rise anew.
Dr. Ranjit Rye of OCTA’s Research earlier stated in the briefing that he believes COVID-19 “numbers will rise.” His colleague, Dr. Guido David, said the Philippines may follow South Africa, India, and the United States in terms of case increase for previously having the same pandemic trend.
“The increase in new COVID cases in South Africa, India and the US makes it likely that the Philippines will see an increase in cases soon,” he said. “How high and when, we don’t know yet… Maybe May or June.”
Noting the importance of wearing masks and receiving booster doses, biologist Fr. Nic Austriaco said those “who have lost their immunity will become more vulnerable” to the disease.
Dr. Ted Herbosa, adviser of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, also said the outbreak will mostly hit the unvaccinated individuals and “in areas where vaccination rates are below 50%.”
Moreover, Health Secretary Francisco Duque reiterated the importance of getting vaccinated and described it as the “game changer” especially among the elderly. He said 85% of severe cases and 93% of the fatalities were unvaccinated.
Although most of the target population have been fully vaccinated, Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) chairperson Dr. Nina Gloriani explained getting two jabs will not suffice due to behavior changes or the virus. She said the general finding shows that antibodies wane after three to six months, while boosters restore antibodies to as high as a hundredfold.
Dr. Rontgene Solante of the VEP also urged those who had their primary vaccines last November to October for further protection “against a heavily mutated Omicron variant.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently projected 300,000 active COVID-19 cases across the country in May, while the Department of Health reported case increases in 14 areas in the country. (PR)/KC-ag
