By KAWAL PREET Technology is moving at lightning speed. In my lifetime alone, the world as we know it has orbited into a completely different galaxy from the one we inhabited before. We’re already reflecting on the last two decades as one of the most dramatic periods of transformation in...
CLINICAL MATTERS Conspiracy theorists went into overdrive anew when several mainstream media outlets, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, published stories suggesting that the SARS-CoV-2 virus might have leaked from a Chinese laboratory. Anti-China rhetoric went into overdrive and...
Celebrating the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health’s 25 years of meaningful health research in the service of the Filipino people CLINICAL MATTERS DR. EDSEL SALVANA The University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) celebrated its silver anniversary...
The coming of the bivalent vaccines, and the need for yearly Covid-19 boosters CLINICAL MATTERS DR. EDSEL SALVANA As the horrendous Valentine’s Day traffic clearly showed, people are going out once again with a vengeance. Restaurants were full to bursting, and the malls were packed. Yes, the...
How the Philippines successfully navigated the Covid-19 pandemic CLINICAL MATTERS DR. EDSEL SALVANA A recent report from China’s National Health Commission stated that nearly 60,000 Covid-19 related deaths occurred in the country between Dec 8, 2022 and Jan. 12, 2023. Of these, more than 5,000...
FROM THE MARGINS January is National Microinsurance Month. Microinsurance is crucial to financial inclusion and has immense social and economic benefits because it provides poor people with safety nets to help them cope with unexpected shocks. Its growth was facilitated by the Insurance Commission...
The Philippines has urged fellow ASEAN members to remain united as the region plays a key role being now the center of global economy. This was stressed by Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Allan Gepty, who represented the Philippines at the First Meeting of the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials...
Debunking the latest fake Covid-19 news and updates on XBB.1.5 and bivalent vaccines CLINICAL MATTERS DR. EDSEL SALVANA It’s a new year and so far, so good! The first week of 2023 showed less than 500 Covid-19 cases per day and only one severe case a day for the entire week. Healthcare...
CLINICAL MATTERS DR. EDSEL SALVANA What a wonderful holiday season we just had. Face-to-face gatherings are once again the norm after two years of keeping to our own households, and celebrations have been on par or exceeded pre-pandemic festivities. The fireworks on New Year’s Eve were as noisy...
CLINICAL MATTERS DR. EDSEL SALVANA If global trends continue, it will definitely be a happy new year in 2023 as the end of the pandemic is at hand. Citing the continued decline in cases and deaths, World Health Organization (WHO) director general Tedros Ghebreyesus is hopeful that the emergency...
Why common sense isn’t so common CLINICAL MATTERS Throughout the pandemic, there were many instances when scientists and doctors were attacked by a mix of anti-science trolls, anti-vaxxers, and Covid-19 denialists. As authorities and healthcare workers raced to save lives using evidence-based...
CLINICAL MATTERS DR. EDSEL SALVANA It has been more than a month since we shifted to voluntary masking. Full face-to-face classes have been going on for some time now. Despite many misgivings, Covid-19 cases in the Philippines have remained stable. Healthcare utilization remains low. Many are...
