The Department of Health (DOH) welcomed the pronouncement of the Octa Research group that Metro Manila might eventually be “resilient” to Delta coronavirus variant in a few months, but reminded the public to still stay vigilant.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that there should be no room for complacency at this point.
“We welcome the statement of OCTA research however, we would like to remind our kababayan not to be complacent against the threat of the Delta variant,” said Vergeire in a statement on Wednesday, July 7.
Related story: OCTA: Metro Manila may be 'Delta resilient' in a few months with ongoing vaccination
The DOH assured that the country will still implement stronger border control to prevent the entry of the Delta variant into communities.
“The existing quarantine protocols are intended to prevent or delay the entry of the Delta variant or any other variant of concern (VOC),” said Vergeire.
“At the same time, we are pushing down our daily cases through the stronger implementation of the PDITR (Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, Reintegrate) strategies and the minimum public health standards in Local Government Units (LGUs), workplaces, and establishments,” she added.
Vergeire also reiterated the importance of completing vaccine doses to get the full protection that it can offer.
“Studies have shown that fully vaccinated individuals were less likely to be hospitalized and experience deaths against the Delta variant,” she said.
“Additionally, the recently released data by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) on the performance of COVID-19 vaccines in the country supports the results of the clinical trials and real-world data reported by several countries that vaccines prevent hospitalization and deaths,” she said.
Vergeire said that the government remains “committed to achieving population protection” through vaccination.
“However, due to scarce vaccine supplies, it is crucial that we cover as many senior citizens and persons with underlying conditions who are at risk for hospitalization and death,” she said.