Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, on Wednesday Feb. 23 echoed President Duterte’s call to the public to get their booster shots once eligible as an additional protection against COVID-19.
In his ‘’Talk to the People’’ address last Monday, the President advised those qualified to get boosted, citing a low rate of people receiving the additional shots.
“Magpa-booster dose na kayo para sa karagdagang proteksyon laban sa COVID-19 lalo na sa mga variant nito tulad ng Omicron (Get your booster dose for your additional protection against COVID-19 especially its variants such as Omicron),” Duterte said.
“Huwag kayong mangamba dahil ang ating bakuna ay pinag-aralang mabuti ng ating mga eksperto. Ito ay garantisadong dekalidad, ligtas, at higit sa lahat, epektibo (Do not be afraid because our vaccine underwent careful studies by experts. It is guaranteed as of best quality, safe, and most of all it is effective),” he reassured.
Reiterating Duterte’s appeal, Go noted that based on available data, getting vaccinated and boosted have hugely reduced the risk of contracting severe cases of COVID-19.
“Hinihikayat ko po ang lahat na magpabakuna lalo na’t bukas na ang programa sa general population (I am encouraging everybody to have themselves vaccinated especially now it is already open to the general population). Pwede na rin magpabooster ang mga qualified (Those who are qualified can now also have their booster dose). Nasa datos naman na kung sino ang positibo at grabe ‘yung sintomas ay kadalasan sila ‘yung mga hindi pa bakunado (Based on the available data, those who tested positive and have severe symptoms were unvaccinated ),” Go pointed out.
The senator from Davao added that cooperation in the national vaccination program is also a way of helping healthcare workers and other frontliners who are toiling endlessly in the fight against the pandemic.
According to the National Task Force Against COVID-19, as of February 21, over 62 million Filipinos have already received their second dose, which represents 69 percent of the targeted 90 million Filipinos. Meanwhile, around 9.7 million boosters have been administered.
Duterte also said that he is pleased that the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has been steadily decreasing.
“Ang mga daily COVID cases natin, pababa nang pababa (Our daily COVID cases is steadily going down). (Health Secretary Francisco) Duque has declared that we have surpassed the worst of the Omicron variant,” the President remarked.
Duque reported that majority of the regions are now at minimal to low risk case classification for COVID-19. The Cordillera Administrative Region is still classified as a moderate-risk case, and Region XI has a moderate-risk ICU utilization rate. The rest of the regions have low-risk rates of healthcare utilization.
The health secretary also urged the public to get their booster doses to prevent further mutation and transmission of COVID-19.
Go then stressed that the fight against the pandemic is a national undertaking and Filipinos can contribute by being responsible citizens.
“Lagi natin alalahanin na hindi kaya ng gobyernong mag-isa ang laban kontra pandemya (We should always remember that the government cannot fight alone against the pandemic). Hindi rin kakayanin ng mga frontliners kung patuloy na dadami ang kailangang dalhin sa mga ospital (Also, the frontliners can no longer handle the situation if more patients will be needing treatment in the hospitals). Preventing the spread of COVID-19 starts with us by being responsible citizens and following health and safety protocols,” said Go.
Finally, the senator reiterated his appeal to the public to remain vigilant and continue complying with the mandated health and safety protocols to curb the spread of the virus and keep the healthcare system afloat.
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