Marcos To Retain COVID Alert Levels; IATF Stays, For Now

The Marcos government will retain the prevailing COVID-19 alert levels in different areas and wait for the recommendation of the next secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) on the country’s pandemic response, Malacañang said on Monday, July 4.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the administration is also retaining the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) for now as the country’s pandemic policymaking body.

“For now, everything is status quo,” Angeles said during her first press briefing held at Malacañang.

“We just continue with the current operational setup, and then we will see what the recommendation of the new DOH secretary will be,” she added.

When asked whether the Marcos government would also retain the IATF, the new press secretary said they would also have to wait for the next secretary of health to make a policy recommendation on the matter.

Metro Manila and several areas in the country remain under the most lenient COVID-19 Alert Level 1 until July 15 despite an uptick in COVID-19 infections.

Angeles said President Marcos has yet to pick the new secretary of health.

“We will rely on the President’s wisdom to choose the best people for the job,” she said.

Pandemic response to continue

The DOH’s pandemic response and operations will just continue as it awaits the appointment of a new health secretary, according to the agency.

At the flag-raising ceremony held at the DOH Central Office gymnasium on Monday, Undersecretary Lilibeth David delivered a message on behalf of the executive committee.

“We eagerly await the announcement of the name of the new secretary of health. We look forward to working with our new secretary on delivering services that promote people’s health,” David said.

The DOH has been continuing its pandemic response and other operations under the leadership of its senior career officials.

Following Department Personnel Order 2022-2357, David leads the Health Policy and Systems Development Team and Health Facilities and Infrastructure Development Team, and is being assisted by Assistant Secretary Kenneth Ronquillo.

Undersecretary Abdullah Dumama leads the Field Implementation and Coordination Team and Health Regulation Team, with the assistance of Assistant Secretaries Charade Mercado-Grande and Roy Ferrer.

Undersecretary Carolina Taino leads the Administration and Financial Management Team and Procurement and Supply Chain Management Team, and is being assisted by Assistant Secretaries Maylene Beltran and Romeo Ong.

Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire continues to lead the Public Health Services Team and the Office of the Chief of Staff, and is being assisted by Assistant Secretary Nestor Santiago.

David assured the public that all services and activities of the department, including COVID-19 pandemic response efforts and other disease prevention and control as well as health promotion programs, are ongoing.

“The DOH continues to serve our people, delivering the best, and further developing programs and policies for a better and ‘Healthy Pilipinas.’ Whoever becomes our new secretary, our commitment to cater to the health needs of every Juan and Juana will be upheld,” she said.

Meanwhile, Philippine Medical Association past president Dr. Benito Atienza stressed the importance of appointing a health secretary soon, especially that the country’s fight against COVID-19 is still ongoing.

“The medical community is looking forward to the appointment of a deserving DOH secretary, since the health sector is confronted with several problems now, including COVID-19,” Atienza said in a recent television interview.

“It is also around this time, starting this month, then August onwards when different illnesses become prevalent and affect the public. The number of patients go up and many are hospitalized,” he added.

At the same time, Atienza emphasized that issues such as the migration of nurses abroad should be addressed, and that health laws such as the Magna Carta of Health Workers should be revisited.

Marcos has yet to appoint his DOH secretary, although the names of DOH-Technical Advisory Group member Dr. Edsel Salvaña and National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa have been floated as possible appointees.

Continued support

Meanwhile, the United States government has expressed continued support to the Philippine government all the way to the new Marcos administration, according to NTF chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr.

Galvez made the statement after receiving the last shipment of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the US government, which arrived a few days before the Duterte administration ended its term.

“This latest shipment of Pfizer vaccines reflects the strong support of the US government to the Philippines’ newly elected president,” Galvez said.

He witnessed the arrival of 299,520 doses of US-donated Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines through the COVAX Facility, which are intended for individuals 12-year-old and above.

“We really thank you for your generosity and kindness,” he added.

This fresh shipment is a symbol of the US’s continued commitment to help boost the Philippines’ national vaccination program and overall pandemic response efforts, according to the vaccine czar.

To date, the Philippines has received a total of 245.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, of which about 74.2 million doses were donated by COVAX. Some 35.7 million doses from the facility were donated by the US government.

Since February last year, the Philippines has procured COVID-19 vaccines made by various manufacturers, which include Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac, Astra-Zeneca, Sputnik V, Sputnik Light and Sinopharm.

Based on data from the National Vaccination Operations Center (NVOC) as of June 26, the country has administered 154,132,506 vaccine doses, with 70,358,612 Filipinos now fully vaccinated, while 75,216,510 individuals have received the first dose.

At least 14,947,878 first booster doses have also been administered as of the same period.

Get booster jabs

With COVID-19 cases now on the rise, Senior Citizens party-list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes has called on his fellow elderly to get their booster jabs soon.

In a statement, Ordanes said that while more than 70 million Filipinos have already received their COVID-19 vaccines, their “protective effects … are waning or lessening” already.

He also noted that despite the figure, only less than 15 million people have gotten their booster shots.

“If you got vaccinated in 2020 or 2021, you should get boosted now, more so if you are in the A1, A2 and A3 priority categories,” he said, referring to health care workers, senior citizens and people with comorbidities, respectively.

Vaccines are being given by the government for free, so those who are eligible, especially the elderly, should avail themselves of the jabs, according to the lawmaker. – With Rhodina Villanueva, Jose Rodel Clapano, Sheila Crisostomo