More than two years into the pandemic, with new variants continuing to appear, rising dengue cases, and monkeypox in the horizon, people are wondering how we can continue to spur the economy, allow people to move around, and still manage to minimize infections to a point when we can really live with the viruses.
Recently, Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) hosted another episode of their webicon series on Zoom and Facebook Live to bring together health experts and the business sector to figure out exactly where we are and how to move forward without going into the extreme of locking down again.
Present as speakers were OCTA Research fellows Prof. Ranjit Singh Rye and Dr. Guido David, GO Negosyo Founder Mr. Jose Maria “Joey” Concepcion, National Task Force Against COVID-19 Special Adviser Dr. Teodoro “Teddy” Herbosa, Health Reform Advocate Dr. Anthony “Tony” Leachon, and Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Rontgene Solante. CSMC’s very own Dr. Paul Salandanan joined in as a reactor, and the event was facilitated by CSMC’s Vice President and Head of Human Resources, Ms. Lucky Diaz-Tiozon.
The take-off point of the webicon came from the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Pres. Marcos Jr. where he said there would be no more lockdowns. OCTA Research Group’s Prof. Ranjit Rye said that they support this call. Joey Conception of Go Negosyo stressed his call again for government to allow the private sector to use the vaccines they had purchased as boosters as about PhP 5 billion of its Moderna and Astra vaccines were set to expire. He suggested that Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) or Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), whichever is applicable. should be given to vaccines at the earliest time possible and that, instead of bringing in too many brands, to just focus on two brands: Pfizer and Moderna.
Prof. Guido David presented a scientific, research-based analysis on recent COVID-19 trends, comparing the Philippines’ current COVID-related statistics to numbers during previous surges.
Dr. Rontgene Solante provided a look into the various strains of the virus, what differentiates them from each other, and the on-ground experiences of clinicians in handling it. He added that, at this time, it is hard to say if people will need an annual COVID booster shot because the virus is still mutating. Since the recent variants are totally new and different from the original Wuhan virus, he says declaring the pandemic as endemic is difficult because there is always a possibility of resurgence.
Dr. Teddy Herbosa touched on the challenges faced by various sectors because of the pandemic, and gave his recommendations on potential exit strategies that can be explored in order to better prepare for potential threats in the future. He emphasized the importance of developing a disaster response mindset for everyone, where priority is given to whoever has the higher survival odds. Improvement is needed on how resources like PPEs and medicines are distributed. He also mentioned that we need a good incident command center that is able to respond in an appropriate and timely manner. Lastly, he mentioned the new alert system ,based on the traffic light system, which has been decoupled from restrictions. Unlike the old alert system where every alert level has corresponding restrictions, the new alert level has clearer parameters that can be readily understood by everyone. RED, for example, will only mean containment (not lockdown) where the response will be to isolate and treat whoever is infected.
Dr. Tony Leachon followed this up by tackling what measures ought to be observed in order to move forward from the pandemic. For him, when there is a health crisis, speed of response becomes more important than precision. As an example, he cited the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that “authorized a second mRNA booster dose ≥4 months after receipt of a first booster dose for adults aged ≥50 years and persons aged ≥12 years with moderate to severe immunocompromise” last March 20, 2022 but it took our Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) till July 2022 to allow adults over 50 years old to receive their second booster.
Here are some of Dr. Leachon’s recommendations:
- Sense of urgency, which includes appointing a DOH Secretary as soon as possible
- Redefine full vaccination (he says it should be 2 primary vaccines + 1 booster)
- Establish a guiding coalition consisting of all stakeholders
- Adapt boldly
- Inventory review of the vaccines with private sector
- Set up a deadline for vaccination and boosters
- Increase vaccination sites and set them up close to residents
- Benchmark with best countries
- Reliably deliver a plan of action on how to stop a surge without lockdowns
Dr. Salandanan offered his own insights as CSMC’s resident Infectious Disease Specialist. For him, a full-time DOH Secretary, and not an OIC, is needed already. He stressed the importance of building a better wall of immunity especially with dengue cases rising.
“As we move from pandemic to endemic, one of the key elements of any national exit strategy [is to] really ensure access to quality testing,” added Rye. “Apart from expanding treatment facilities [and making them accessible], we really need to deal with testing. The state has to [find ways to] provide quality antigen testing and [improve the] reporting of these results.”
“Getting the first and second booster will protect our healthcare utilization because we are [preventing] people [from] developing the more severe form of COVID, especially if [they] have comorbidities,” said Solante.
“The way forward is really informing our public more so that [they] can make better decisions. It is important for us to come up with a holistic and comprehensive plan for everything, whether it is expanded testing and treatment, information campaigns, [or] even just sustaining our booster and vaccine programs,” stressed Rye. “We need to come up with a comprehensive national COVID strategy. That is the challenge for this new administration.”