MANILA, Philippines – In his first press briefing since he assumed office, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday, July 5, that he would “reinstitute” COVID-19 vaccination to fight Omicron offshoots that have been causing a surge in infections in the country.
“From the original variants, it was okay to have two shots but with Omicron, apparently we need a third dose, which is a booster dose. We will be encouraging that, especially for younger people because again, we have to be concerned about their return to school,” Marcos said.
“That’s the general policy. We will reinstitute again the vaccination drive so we would be safer when the children go back to school,” he added.
No further details were given on how the government would strengthen the vaccination drive. As of Tuesday, the President has yet to name a new secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) who would inherit the country’s battle against the pandemic.
“If we look at where we started, we still have the capability to handle the new COVID-19 cases, we should not look at the number of cases the same way we looked at them in 2020 and 2021, because this is Omicron. Omicron is very different. It is a little contagious but it doesn’t hit us very hard. In fact, the general experience is that people are down for like two to three days and that’s like flu,” Marcos said.
Marcos speaks from experience having survived COVID-19 which he contracted during the early part of the pandemic.
Daily COVID-19 cases in the Philippines might reach up to around 17,105 by the end of July if Filipinos continue their current level of compliance with minimum public health standards (MPHS), like wearing masks, washing hands, and physical distancing, the DOH said.
During their first Cabinet meeting, Marcos also mentioned Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte’s plan to transition all schools in the country face-to-face classes by November. Face-to-face classes will be implemented in phases when the new school year begins in August. No other details were given. – Rappler.com
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