SunStar
+ April 08, 2021 THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a hospital’s application for the compassionate use of antiparasitic drug ivermectin as potential treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), FDA Director General Eric Domingo said on Thursday, April 8, 2021. Ang pagkakaalam ko may isang ospital sa amin na nag-apply ng compassionate special permit for the use of ivermectin at ito po ay na-grant ngayong araw na ito, Domingo said in a televised public briefing.
Domingo did not identify the hospital to protect patient privacy.
He said the issuance of such a permit does not necessarily mean that ivermectin is safe and effective as Covid-19 treatment.
Individuals who got inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines still need to follow the national government’s travel protocols, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.
January 15, 2021 President Rodrigo Duterte said he is willing to be vaccinated by a Covid-19 vaccine either from China or Russia. In Cebu City, Vice Mayor Michael Rama volunteered to be vaccinated first but not if the vaccine came from China. The Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines are made by China while Sputnik is made by Russia.
The Philippine government through vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez has been negotiating with various pharmaceutical manufacturers for our National Vaccination Program. According to the latest update, the US-Germany manufactured vaccine by Pfizer-BioNtech will arrive first in the middle of February before China’s Sinovac vaccine named CoronaVac. Well, whichever comes first at least we are already assured that we can start our vaccination program.
Kalinga party-list Rep. Irene Gay Saulog
(KALINGA PARTYLIST / MANILA BULLETIN)
Kalinga party-list Rep. Irene Gay Saulog, a member of the House Minority bloc, described as “laudable” the decision of the IATF to form the panel, which is composed of medical experts.
“Kalinga Party-list welcomes the IATF’s creation of the TWG that will focus on the new COVID-19 variants. It was a laudable move to appoint as heads those from the medical and scientific community. They possess the requisite knowledge and expertise in addressing the new development in the pandemic,” she said in a Viber message.
“This action alone will not prevent the entry of the new COVID-19 variants to the country. It is, however, a good starting point in the country’s response. A specialized body that will be focused on a mission critical objective,” Saulog said.
Department of Health Undersecretary and Spokesperson Ma. Rosario Vergeire (FILE PHOTO)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) Department of Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire has been named as head of a group of experts tasked to study new COVID-19 variants and suggest policies to the country s coronavirus task force.
In a statement, Malacañang said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Tuesday created the Technical Working Group (TWG) on COVID-19 Variants upon the order of President Rodrigo Duterte. This Technical Working Group will monitor and identify the occurrence of new variants of COVID-19 in the country and will provide policy recommendations to the IATF on the appropriate response regarding these variants, the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson said.