It has been a year and five months since the deadly COVID-19 upended our lives. While vaccinations happen here and there, it looks like this plague is not ending any time soon—here's why
In the past few days, a burst of righteous anger perked up the medical workers in the Philippines as they staged online and physical protests against the country's health agency. Their call? Fair wages and benefits following the COVID-19 build up in hospitals nationwide.
Medical staff have been overwhelmed amid the pandemic. As of this writing, there are already 103 of them on the list of coronavirus fatalities in the Philippines. In an interview, Alliance of Health Workers President Robert Mendoza cried for help. “It is sad that many of us have died, many of us became sick, and many have resigned or opted to retire early, yet we are still kneeling before the Health Department to give us our benefits."
If we let the numbers speak, the Department of Health's (DOH) latest record showed that there are over two million cases of COVID-19 in the country; of these numbers, 146,510 are active cases.
Bearing these in mind, one question continues to linger inside every Filipino's head: "How is the Philippines' battle against the deadly pandemic?"
Read more: COVID-19 Anniversary: Are You Experiencing Pandemic Fatigue?
COVID-19 Cases Uptick
The protests, hard lockdowns, and soaring cases stemmed from the entry of the new and deadlier variant of COVID-19: Delta.
The Delta variant is one of the 11 SARS-CoV-2 variants that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is closely monitoring. The virus, which is also called B.1.617.2, was first identified in India in December 2020. . According to COVID Expert Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, there are already 96 countries with Delta variants as of July 2021. "We expect that the Delta variant will continue to spread. And we know that where the Delta variant is identified, it really rapidly takes off and spreads between people more efficiently," she said.
The National Capital Region (NCR), home to almost 14 million people, was placed under stricter lockdown in August in an attempt to slow the spread of the aggressive Delta strain. The Philippines' cases had already fallen after a severe outbreak in March, but transmission began to increase again.
See also: Lambda, Delta, And More: COVID-19 Variants And What You Need To Know
Vaccinations
The Philippines’ prioritisation framework for COVID-19 vaccination is based on the recommendation released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE). Under the prioritisation plan, frontline workers, all senior citizens, persons with comorbidities, frontline personnel in essential sectors (including uniformed personnel), and the indigent population shall receive the first doses of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, teachers, social or government workers, socio-demographic groups, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and other remaining workforce will receive the vaccines next. The rest of the Philippine population who are not included in the sectors mentioned above will receive the vaccines last.
