The national government should “shift” plans and “adapt” amid the continuous spike of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections in the country, public health expert and former National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 special adviser Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon said on Tuesday, Jan. 18.

In a Facebook post, Leachon urged the government to “shift plans now”, reiterating that the country is battling with a “mild but dangerous” variant of COVID-19.

“No one knows what’s coming next with COVID-19. The virus is adapting. We must adapt too and get comfortable with guidance changing as the situation changes,” said Leachon.

To stop the ongoing viral transmission of the virus, the public health expert said the Philippines must “take simple actions” to protect the country’s health care system, as well as the vulnerable sector.

“Let’s follow the playbook: public awareness campaign, travel restrictions, border control, testing, tracing, isolation, quarantine, vaccination, and booster program. We need a scorecard to monitor the success of programs. We can’t manage what we don’t measure,” said Leachon.

Meanwhile, following NTF deputy chief implementer and testing czar Vince Dizon’s announcement that the government will roll out COVID-19 vaccinations in selected pharmacies in Metro Manila from Jan. 20 until Jan. 21, Leachon said that the country should also create additional vaccination sites and maximize the use of mobile vaccinations to reach the unvaccinated population.

“I tweeted and discussed this concept on my Facebook live 10 months ago. Other suggestions: create 500 vaccination sites close to people’s homes catering to at least 100 persons to prevent superspreader events, mobile vans with vaccines to reach unvaccinated patients,” he added.