Marcos admin urged to come up with national Covid-19 exit plan
Experts were delighted with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s commitment to end the implementation of lockdowns in the Philippines, but OCTA Research noted that while it is a “fundamental change” in the country’s mitigation strategy, a comprehensive “playbook” is still necessary for moving out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Marcos, in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), held on Monday, July 25, stated that the country would not need to implement lockdowns anymore in order to deal with Covid-19 surges.
Among the health highlights of the address were also to sustain the national vaccine and booster programs in the country; the revision of health protocols and alert systems, calling the need to make it clear and specific; as well as the creation of a law backing the establishment of Center for Disease Control and Prevention along with a Vaccine Institute.
All of these pronouncements, according to OCTA Research fellow Professor Ranjit Rye, were supported by the independent research group. However, Rye stressed that a specific blueprint is necessary to end the pandemic.
“Be that as it may, I am a believer that all of these initiatives should be part of one comprehensive master plan for our roadmap or blueprint for moving out of the pandemic. Similar to the United States, we should have a that will guide and harmonize various policies and program initiatives already outlined in the SONA 2022,” said OCTA fellow Professor Ranjit Rye in a webicon called ‘Covid-19: From Pandemic to Endemic’ on Thursday, July 28.
“We need to have a plan. This is the basic recommendation of OCTA Research: A National Strategy or Exit Plan,” he furthered.
The exit plan, according to the expert, should provide a “detailed plan of action” for the national, local government, and private sector on how to respond and recover from the pandemic effectively.
“Over the next few months it can be developed, and it should be the guide for all stakeholders for moving forward. The plan has to be so well done so we prevent the loss of vaccines,” he added.