DAVAO CITY — The National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) have activated a crisis action plan to effectively contain and mitigate highly transmissible Covid-19 strains, such as the Delta variant, as the National Capital Region and other areas of the country are placed under lockdown.
“The mission of our Crisis Action Plan will be to implement contingency operations in preparation for and response to an exponential increase in Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases due to the emergence of new variants at the national level,” NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a news release on August 5.
The crisis action plan is aligned with the National Action Plan Phase 4 and focuses on enhanced implementation of the Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, Reintegrate, plus Vaccinate (PDITR+V) strategy, as well as the four-door strategy of stricter border controls, heightened surveillance, quick response, and, focus and expand mass vaccination according to Galvez.
“As we speak, and even as the variants of concern, such as the Delta variant, were being discovered, the NTF and IATF have already been taking actions. Many of these are preparations for the implementation of contingency measures,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
According to Vergeire, the Delta variant’s entry has been “delayed” due to the early implementation of the four-door method, notably Door 1 (point of origin) and Door 2 (point of entry).
Travel prohibitions and restrictions, as well as screening, quarantine, and testing at the point of entry, were all successful in limiting the Delta variant’s entry and spread.
“Doors 3 and 4 have been activated now that the country has detected local cases of the Delta variant.
Door 3 would entail strengthening the implementation of PDITR strategies to avoid local transmission, while Door 4 would prepare and ensure that our health-care capacity is ready for a large-scale community transmission by boosting our PDITR+ strategies,” according to Vergeire.
Streamlining to boost response efforts
According to Galvez, establishing the action plan also entailed restructuring the NTF to improve policy and operations synergy. While the task force’s initial operational setup only included three clusters – vaccine, response, and recovery – it has since been expanded to include the response cluster with communities, health facilities, and borders sub-clusters in order to activate community-level 2 response efforts, increase health care capacities, and create buffer supplies at all levels while strengthening
external and internal borders.
“The restructuring of our operational setup is aligned with the four-door strategy and part of our preemptive measures against the Delta variant. This allows us to intensify our response efforts and be more coherent in the delivery of services as we anticipate an increase in cases caused by the Delta or any variants of concern,” Galvez explained.
As each door is activated, he continued, the different NTF clusters and sub-clusters are taking appropriate actions. Since the activation of Door 1, stringent border controls have been established, including travel restrictions, monitoring of all points of entry, and limiting interzonal and intrazonal movement.
Meanwhile, with the activation of Door 2, increased surveillance is in place. This includes active case finding, securing the capacity of all laboratories across the country, and establishing satellite facilities to increase whole genome sequencing capability.
As the government activates Doors 3 and 4, the task force will be able to respond quickly at all levels via different Emergency Operations Centers and One Hospital Command Centers at both the national and regional levels.
“In this way, we can concentrate not just on minimizing entry but also on mitigating the possible effects of widespread community transmission. Because we cannot just wait for our health-care workers and system to get overwhelmed, we must foresee all conceivable scenarios and prepare for the worst,” Galvez added.
He emphasized that the vaccination effort will continue as part of the measures to manage Covid-19 variants that are highly transmissible. “To be ready in the event of an increase in cases, we’re re- strategizing our implementation as well as our vaccination supply allocation.
This will ensure that vaccines are delivered to those who need them the most, as well as those who are most at risk of disease and death,” he explained.
Galvez added that, for the time being, hospitals are not authorized to deliver vaccinations on-site, thus contingency plans are being put in place at various vaccination sites as well as for health care workers around the country.
In places under lockdown, quick response teams are also being organized for ring vaccination. “We’re also carefully analyzing our vaccine inventory to guarantee that the second dose is allocated, as well as prioritizing the deployment of supplies for the most vulnerable sectors in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas,” Galvez said.
He said the recovery cluster, managed by the National Economic and Development Authority, is focused on guaranteeing the continuity of critical government services as well as preparing for the country’s social and economic recovery once the strict quarantine measures are lifted.
Increased enthusiasm to get vaccinated
Individuals went to vaccination sites at the national and local levels such as in Davao region in recent weeks, indicating an apparent rise in enthusiasm.
Those who went to the congested vaccination facilities on Thursday were recommended to self-isolate after being exposed to probable super spreader events, according to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
He advised them to stay at home and monitor their symptoms if they began to display flu-like symptoms. If individuals get COVID-19-related symptoms, they should contact local barangay health officials right away, according to the secretary.
Mary Jane Bantog, Barangay Health worker of Balit, Island Garden City of Samal said in her dialect, “When we started taking the first, then, the second dose of vaccines, everyone at the Barangay including the ordinary folks got interested and had themselves enlisted for vaccination schedules.
However, we noticed that supplies are not enough this time to meet the demands for vaccines.” Leo Delarosa, a 33-year-old cab driver from Kidapawan, North Cotabato, is still skeptical about the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccinations. “Most of my passengers are going to immunization sites,” he stated.
“The majority of them recommended that drivers be prioritized because we are exposed to different people every day and we never know when we are already infected because we only care about earning money each day and sometimes forget about whatever symptoms we have because medicines are expensive to buy,” Delarosa added.
Since he was a teenager, Billy Escobido, 70, has worked as a construction worker in the Davao Region. He has been suffering from a stroke since January of this year.
“Dili ko gusto matakdan kay basig mosamot ang akong gibati,” he said, wanting a jab to protect him from Covid-19. “Kabalo ko nga dali ra ko matakdan kay dunay koy sakit daan,” he said, as he tried to explain his vulnerability while also wanting to get vaccinated first.
“Getting vaccinated will benefit me especially now with the presence of the Covid-19 variant,” Shintaro Dongzal, a 21-year-old medical technology student at Brokenshire College in Davao City, said.
“Our immune system has to be strengthened. I don’t want to get infected because the virus can infect anyone, anywhere, at any time.” PH daily vaccination record reached 659,029 doses.
On Tuesday, August 3, the Philippines set a new daily high of 659,029 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine administered, according to Carlito Galvez Jr., chief secretary of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19, who said the achievement demonstrated the country’s vaccination capacity following the steady delivery of jabs for the past two weeks. The previous record was 472,356 jabs on July 22.
“We’re happy that we’ve been able to reach milestone after milestone. This demonstrates that we have the capacity and capability to meet our 500,000 inoculations per day target as long as vaccines arrive in a consistent supply “Galvez made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday.
The government plans to boost daily doses to 750,000 in the last three months, inoculating 77,746,906 Filipinos, or 70% of the country’s population, by the end of the year. Galvez commended the private sector and local government units (LGUs) for assisting the national government in pushing for an effective vaccination program since it began in March.
“We salute our local government and private sector implementing units for being committed to completing their vaccination rollout as swiftly and efficiently as possible, ultimately protecting as many people as possible from the disease,” he said.
Galvez also commended the vaccination program’s success to the health-care workers who, despite the pandemic threat, work tirelessly to serve the public.
