With the highly contagious coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Delta variant lurking, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) strongly urged the public to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“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 (Get vaccinated because this is our priority now and get tested so that we can go to work, school, and to reopen our economy), PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Senator Richard Gordon said.
PRC urges the public to get vaccinated as health experts say that vaccines are highly effective against this new variant of concerns such as the Delta variant.
Called B.1.617.2.1 or AY.1, the Delta Plus (for short) is a version of the Delta variant first detected in India in February. This new variant of concern, PRC explained, has generated a significant amount of global media attention.
PRC underscored the importance of getting vaccinated as the new version of the Delta coronavirus variant is “spreading rapidly” in a number of countries including the United Kingdom, United States, and India according to health officials.
So far, the Department of Health (DOH) said that there are “no local cases” of the Delta variant that have been detected in the country.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/29/treatment-czar-no-local-cases-of-delta-variant-in-ph-so-far/
The PRC noted that in the Philippines, 10 million Filipinos are already vaccinated while 2.5 million of those vaccinated received the 2nd dose. This, the organization added, is part of the 70 percent of the total adult population that needs to get vaccinated in the county.
Meanwhile, Gordon assured that the PRC will continue offering its services to help in the fight against COVID-19. To date, he noted that PRC has seven “Bakuna Centers.”
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/06/23/ph-red-cross-opens-6-covid-19-vaccination-centers-in-metro-manila/
Likewise, Gordon emphasized the importance of wearing a face mask and regular testing.
“Always wear a face mask,” he said. “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 added.
PRC remains the leading organization when it comes to COVID-19 testing. It has tested over 3.3 million tests making up for the 23 percent of tests done in the country.
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 regular test to slow the spread of the virus.”
These practices, Gordon added, are “most important as the majority of our fellow Filipinos are not yet vaccinated.”