The testing and immediate isolation of persons who tested positive for coronavirus disease COVID-19) is still the standard to effectively curb the rising number of cases of coronavirus infection across the country, House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Janette Garin said on Wednesday, March 24.
In a virtual press conference together with other members of the House Minority bloc, Garin said it is imperative that the government do not only focus on the implementation of the vaccination program, but also ramp up its COVID-19 testing and isolation capacities.
“Let me reiterate that full protection due to vaccination takes effect two to four weeks after the second dose. It is not immediate. We still need to be wary. We still need to wear face masks, practice social distancing and always sanitize and wash our hands frequently,” said Garin, Iloilo 1stDistrict Representative said.
“At this point where we are back to square one or possibly behind, we should test, test, test. Testing and immediate isolation is still the solution. Testing while waiting for the vaccine and the impact of vaccination to take full effect is needed if we really want a scientific solution to this pandemic,” she reiterated.
The physician-lawmaker explained a person vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine needs at least two months to ensure he or she has sufficient antibodies to fight off the virus and possibly other variants of the coronavirus.
“We need to attack the virus and prevent further replication and possible mutations by supporting the positives,” she said.
She also urged PhilHealth to pay government hospitals so they can continuously test the vulnerable population.
“Hindi makulit ang mga Pilipino (Filipinos are not stubborn). We have endured more than a year of lockdowns without enough social amelioration and economic stimulus. What we need now is better, more effective direction from those handling our COVID-19 response,” she emphasized.
“Kaya po (That’s why) test, test, test—immediate isolation of positives. We cannot just focus on vaccination,” she reiterated.
“We need to address the current surge. We need to make RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) testing affordable for all. Kailangan sabayang gumalaw ang lahat dahil dito nakasalalay ang ating survival (We need to do all of these simultaneously because this is where our survival depends on),” she pointed out.
Garin lamented neighboring countries in Asia are able to do both COVID-19 vaccination and testing programs at the same time, but not the Philippines.“I envy our neighbors for vaccinating and testing efficiently pero naniniwala akong kaya pa rin natin ito kung tayo ay sabay-sabay na magtatrabaho (but I believe this is still possible if everyone would just work quickly at the same time),” she said.