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Posts published in “COVID-19”

The latest COVID-19 updates, news and information.

Philippines launches eTravel platform to replace One Health Pass

December 3, 2022

The Philippine government just launched the eTravel platform that will as an online Health Declaration and Contact Tracing platform that aims to promote a convenient and seamless movement of international travelers from departure from the country of origin to arrival at the Local Government Unit (LGU) of destination. The service is for all foreign and Filipino international travelers, including infants and children.

The eTravel service started last December 2, the Health Declaration Checklist of the Department of Health-Bureau of Quarantine may be accessed through etravel.gov.ph and anyone accessing the One Health Pass will be redirected to the new eTravel domain. On December 5, the One Health Pass website no longer be accessible by the public.

Using and eTravel platform registration is free and does not collect or require any form of online payment.

Here’s the announcement from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF – EID);

Pursuant to the Philippine Government’s efforts to streamline its entry procedures and data collection processes, we inform you of the launch of the eTravel platform, an online registration system for travelers to the Philippines and returning residents.

Beginning 0001H of 02 December 2022, the Health Declaration Checklist of the Department of Health-Bureau of Quarantine may be accessed through etravel.gov.ph.

Passengers using the former www.onehealthpass.com.ph will be redirected to the new eTravel domain. On December 5, the old domain of the One Health Pass will no longer be accessible to the public.

The eTravel platform will host the electronic version of the paper Arrival Card that travelers must submit upon arrival in the Philippines for immigration clearance. Starting 05 December 2022, the Bureau of Immigration will discontinue using the paper Arrival Card. All travelers will be required to provide their arrival information and health declaration through the eTravel portal.

Registration on the eTravel platform is free. The public is warned against transacting with any entities or websites soliciting payments and fees of any kind as these are in no way related to the official eTravel platform of the Philippine Government.

The eTravel platform is a joint initiative of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in partnership with the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), Bureau of Customs (BOC), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Saudi Government will no longer shoulder the COVID-19 cost for patients in private hospital

March 19, 2022

Saudi Arabia will no longer pay for the treatment of COVID-19 cost for patients in private private sector.

This was announced by Council of Health Insurance (Dhaman) last Tuesday, 14th of March, that the government will no longer bear the treatment costs of COVID-19 patients in the private hospitals and other health facilities. The announcement was made through a Dhaman circular sent to all the approved healthcare service providers and the qualified health insurance companies in the Kingdom.

Dhaman circular also emphasis the need to be vaccinated as well as take the booster shots for all the people inside the Kingdom in accordance with the directives of the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Public Health Authority (Weqaya).

Patients who are not eligible with for treatment or insurance coverage, can still avail of the services by getting the approval from MoH.

For more details, you can read the full report from Saudi Gazette;

Faceshield no longer required for areas under Alert Levels 1 – 3

November 16, 2021

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea just released the memorandum (resolution no. 148-D) that the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) have been approved by the President to lift the mandatory use of faceshield for areas under Alert Levels 1 – 3.

The memo (image below) also states that those localities under Alert Levels 4, local gornment units (LGU) and private establishments are given the discretion to use or not to use facehshield.

For areas under Alert Levels 5, granular lockdown, hospitals and quarantine facilities, the use of faceshield is strictly enforced and mandatory.

To know more what Alert Levels is your area under, you can go here.

Faceshield have been the center of controversy and the topic of the current senate inquiry. For more about the Faceshield controversy, you can read the Rappler’s comprehensive report – Tale of pandemic face shields: Costly, overstocked, unauthorized gov’t buys.

Saudi Arabia and 43 countries that are now on Philippines ‘Greenlist’

November 13, 2021

Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) just release the new Resolution No. 148A, that list down the countries that are considered as “Green,” “Yellow,” and “Red.”

Travelers that are coming from countries in the “Green-list” means that all travelers that are fully vaccinated can enter the Philippines without the need to undergo facility-based quarantine. They just need to present a negative RT-PCR test taken 72 hours before their departure from the country of origin. Travelers are are also instructed to monitor (and report) any covid-19 related symptoms in the next 14 days.

For fully vaccinated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and non-OFWs that did take the RT-PCR test before their flight, will have the option to take the RT-PCR test upon arrival with the caveat of being quarantined in a facility until a negative results come out.

For the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and non-OFWs, they need to undergo facility-based quarantine and will take the swab test on the fifth day and will be released once they get a negative result. Foreign nationals need to arrange their own hotel reservations for six days quarantine.

Countries that are in the “Green-list” are as follows;

American Samoa Kuwait Saint Barthelemy
Bhutan Kyrgyzstan Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Chad Malawi Saudi Arabia
Mainland China Mali Senegal
Comoros Marshall Islands Sierra Leone
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Montserrat Sint Eustatius
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Morocco South Africa
Federated States of Micronesia Namibia Sudan
Guinea Niger Taiwan
Guinea-Bissau Northern Mariana Islands Togo
Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China) Oman Uganda
India Pakistan United Arab Emirates
Indonesia Palau Zambia
Japan Paraguay Zimbabwe
Kosovo Rwanda

Travelers from or have been to “Red-listed” countries 14 days before arrival are not allowed to enter the Philippines regardless of vaccination status. However, Filipinos nationals are exempted if they arrive via government and non-government-initiated repatriation, as well as those from Bayanihan Flights.

Upon arrival in the country, they are required to undergo facility-based quarantine for 10 days then must have a negative RT-PCR test on the seventh day, they must complete the 14-day quarantine period and will be under strict symptom-monitoring by the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ).

For transit travelers, they will not be considered a traveler from that (red-listed) country, since they did not leave the airport or having been cleared for entry by immigration authorities. Transit travellers are still be required to follow the protocols prescribed under their vaccination status.

Faroe Islands and The Netherlands are the only countries on the red list.

As for fully-vaccinated travelers coming from countries in the “Yellow-list” they need to undergo facility-based quarantine and will take the swab test on the fifth day and will be released once they get a negative result. Then home-quarantine for 10 more days. Foreign nationals need to arrange their own hotel reservations for six days quarantine.

For travelers who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or those who do not have a verifiable vaccination status, they need to undergo facility-based quarantine and will take the swab test on the seventh day and will be released once they get a negative result. Then home-quarantine for 7 more days. Foreign nationals need to arrange their own hotel reservations for 8days quarantine.

IATF said “All other countries/territories/jurisdictions not otherwise listed” under the “Green” or “Red” list are “Yellow-listed”.

The new classification of “Green,” “Yellow,” and “Red” shall be effective from November 16, 2021 until November 30, 2021.

You can click on the link to read the full text of IATF-EID RESOLUTION NO. 148-A.

Philippines received additional 3 million Sinovac vaccine

September 19, 2021

Philippines just received an additional 3 million doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccines arrived today, September 19, at 6:00 PM, in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2.

As of September 18, 2021, there have been 41.25 million vaccine administered and around 18.47 million can be considered as fully vaccinated individuals.

GACA issue new guidelines for residents and visitors entering Saudi Arabia and shorten quarantine period

September 14, 2021

Saudi’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) issued today, Sept. 13th, new instructions to all airliners operating in the Kingdom’s airports to update their respective entry mechanism and procedures, for residents and visitors arriving in the Kingdom from permitted countries and to reduce the period of institutional quarantine.

Here’s the official statemenet from GACA;

First: A non-vaccinated person who has received one dose of the approved vaccines in the Kingdom, provided that he submits a negative (PCR) exam of a sample swab taken within (72) hours before leaving to the Kingdom at the latest, and that institutional quarantine procedures are applied to him for a period of five days. Furthermore, a corona exam to be conducted within (24) hours of arrival, and another exam on the fifth day after arrival (the recipient must adhere to the times of the corona examination based on what appears to him in the “Tawakkalna” application in the chronology service). The period of institutional quarantine ends with the appearance of a negative test result.

Second: Arriving passengers who completed one of the vaccines not approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and not approved in the Kingdom, or who completed one of the vaccines approved by the World Health Organization and not approved in the Kingdom, provided that he submits a negative PCR exam of a sample swab taken within (72) hours before leaving for The Kingdom at the highest estimate, and that institutional quarantine procedures are applied to him for a period of five days, and that a corona examination is conducted within (24) hours of arrival and another examination on the fifth day after arrival (the recipient must adhere to the times of corona examination based on what appears to him in the Tawakkalna application, in the chronology service), and the period of institutional quarantine ends with the appearance of a negative test result.

GACA also stated that dependents can also enter the country with their “immune” relatives, in accordance to the following;

First: Unvaccinated dependents under the age of eighteen shall be subject to home quarantine procedures for a period of five days, provided that a corona exam (for those who have completed eight years and above) is conducted on the fifth day, and that they’re committed to applying all precautionary measures determined by the Ministry of Health.

Second: Institutional quarantine procedures are applied to unvaccinated dependents who are eighteen years of age, or older.

These new guidelines will take effect on Sept 23rd.

GCA also stressed the following;

  • Arriving residents must complete the vaccine doses available in the Kingdom after the end of the institutional quarantine period, and whoever completed one of the vaccines approved by the organization and not approved in the Kingdom (currently the Sinopharma vaccine and the Sinovac vaccine) should obtain a booster dose from one of the vaccines available in the Kingdom after arrival.
  • Arriving passengers must register on “Quddum” platform before going to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • Isolation procedures will be applied according to the Ministry of Health protocols, for those who will be tested positive during institutional quarantine
  • Recovery from infection with the Coronavirus is not considered as a justification to not undergo Institutional quarantine procedures.

GACA also added that the amendment of the home quarantine procedures also applies to the non-vaccinated, which requires a home quarantine for a period of five days, and a PCR exam will be conducted on the fifth day in accordance to Ministry of Health protocols. A person will not be allowed to all places, activities, events and government and private facilities and the use of public transportation without being vaccinated with one of the approved coronavirus vaccines in the Kingdom.

Source: GACA

Philippine Red Cross releases report for their COVID-19 pandemic response accomplishment

September 12, 2021

A day after President Duterte threaten to stop any government transactions with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), the humanitarian agency releases their first report regarding their COVID-19 pandemic response accomplishment.

These are the numbers so far;

  • Tested 4,199,910 swab and saliva samples, which is 22% of all tests conducted in PH.
  • Vaccinated 205,060, where 31.35% or 64,288 are fully vaccinated.
  • Helped 3,253 patients in isolation
  • Deployed 121 medical tents in 62 hospitals that served 34,660 patients.

Also included in the report are the numbers of patients served by their ambulance and the people who ate the hot meals served by their rolling kitchen. You can also see the numbers for their blood services, dialysis treatments as well as those who received covalescent plasma from PRC.

COVID-19 for Sept. 12th: DOH reports 21,411 new cases with 2 million patient who recovered from the coronavirus

September 12, 2021

In today’s COVID-19 update, Department of Health (DOH) just reported that there are 21,411 new COVID-19 cases and and 168 deaths, with 2 million patient who recovered from the coronavirus, which is a bright spot in the report.

Since the pandemic started, the total number of cases in the Philippines is now at 2,227,36, and the total number of deaths just crossed the 35k mark with 181,951 active cases.

Edson C. Guido, ABS-CBN News Data Analytics Head, also pointed out that the “positivity rate decreased for the 3rd straight day but is still at least 27% for the 10th straight day.” and “ICU bed occupancy rate is at 77%,” the highest to date.

COVID-19 Updates September 9th: Philippine registered 22,820 new COVID-19 case, a new record high

September 9, 2021

After delaying today’s case bulletin, Department of Health (DOH) reported that the country has registered 22,820 new covid-19 case, a new record high. The previous record for the single day tally was last September 6, 2020, with a recorded 22,347 of new covid-19 cases. DOH added that the there have been 12,337 recoveries and 61 died because of coronavirus.

The new report will push the total number of cases in the Philippines to 2.16 million, with 166,672 active cases, 1.96 million have recovered from coronavirus and a total of 34,733 deaths.

According to DOH, the data is from the contribution of 5 labs for the past 14 days.

IATF approves new quarantine classifications on Sept 8th to 30th

September 6, 2021
IATF approves new quarantine classifications on Sept 8th to 30th

Announced during the Palace briefing with Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, IATF approves new quarantine classifications on Sept 8th to 30th, which includes National Capital Region (NCR) to switch to a pilot area for implementing localized lock-downs.

The new quarantine classifications was approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

These are new quarantine classifications;

MECQ

  • Apayao
  • Bataan
  • Bulacan
  • Cavite
  • Lucena City
  • Rizal
  • Laguna
  • Iloilo Province
  • Iloilo City
  • Cagayan De Oro City

GCQ

* with heighten restrictions

  • Ilocos Sur
  • Ilocos Norte
  • Cagayan
  • Pangasinan
  • Quezon
  • Batangas
  • Naga City
  • Antique
  • Bacolod City
  • Capiz
  • Cebu Province
  • Lapu-Lapu City
  • Negros Oriental
  • Zamboanga Del Sur
  • Misamis Oriental
  • Davao City
  • Davao Del Norte
  • Davao De Oro
  • Davao Occidental
  • Butuan City

GCQ

  • National Capital Region*
  • Baguio City
  • Kalinga
  • Abra
  • Benguet
  • Dagupan City
  • City of Santiago
  • Quirino
  • Isabela
  • Nueva Vizcaya
  • Tarlac
  • Occidental Mindoro
  • Puerto Princesa
  • Aklan
  • Guimaras
  • Negros Occidental
  • Cebu City
  • Mandaue City
  • Zamboanga
  • Sibugay
  • Zamboanga City
  • Zamboanga Del Norte
  • Misamis Occidental
  • Iligan City
  • Davao Oriental
  • Davao Del Sur
  • Gen. Santos City
  • Sultan Kudarat
  • Sarangani
  • North Cotobato
  • Agusan Del Norte
  • Agusan Del Sur
  • Dinagat Islands
  • Surigao Del Norte
  • Surigao Del Sur
  • Cotobato City
  • Lano Del Sur

MECQ

Rest of the Philippines

Lifting of travel restrictions take effect today, Sept. 6th, 2021

September 6, 2021

The lifting of travel restrictions for 10 countries, which President Rodrigo Duterte approves last Sept. 4, 2021.

The 10 countries are;

  1. India
  2. Pakistan
  3. Bangladesh
  4. Sri Lanka
  5. Nepal
  6. United Arab Emirates
  7. Oman
  8. Thailand
  9. Malaysia
  10. Indonesia

The removal of the travel restrictions is approved even though the number of confirmed covid-19 cases have surge passed 20,000 per day.

You can read the official statement released by Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) here.

Philippines COVID-19 Updates August 23, 2021, we now have a new record-high for a single day tally

August 23, 2021

It’s been ages, since I last posted a covid-19 update but since I assume that the cases would go down because of the continuous vaccine drive by the government.

Anyway, as of today, August 23, 2021, Department of Health (DoH) recorded 18,332 of new cases of covid-19, which is a record-high for a single day tally, making the total number of cases to 1,857,646, there were 13,794 recoveries, 151 deaths and the total number of active cases are now at 130,350.

DoH added that this data was contibuted by 3 labs for the past 14 days.

Filipino Seafarers are now included in the priority list of National COVID-19 Vaccination Program

April 12, 2021

Good news to all Filipino Seafarers, since Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approves the recommendation of the DOTr to include them in the priority list of the government’s national vaccination rollout.

“This is a very good development for our maritime industry champions— our seafarers. Now, our Filipino seafarers will be given priority to be vaccinated. Paulit-ulit ko pong inilalarawan ang ating maritime workforce bilang mga silent workers ng bayan. They work silently, yet their contribution is as crucial as keeping the economy thriving. Not only are they frontliners, but they are undoubtedly HEROES, too,” DOTr Secretary Arthur P. Tugade expressed.

There are currently 730,651 Filipino seafarers and all are for consideration in the A4 category. You can go here for more details on the groups of persons listed under A4 category.

Here’s the full text of Department of Transportation (DOTr) official statement;

FILIPINO SEAFARERS NOW INCLUDED IN PRIORITY LIST IN THE NAT’L COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAM

Filipino seafarers get a closer shot at getting vaccines against COVID-19 as the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approves the recommendation of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to include them in the priority recipients listed in the government’s national vaccination rollout.

“This is a very good development for our maritime industry champions— our seafarers. Now, our Filipino seafarers will be given priority to be vaccinated. Paulit-ulit ko pong inilalarawan ang ating maritime workforce bilang mga silent workers ng bayan. They work silently, yet their contribution is as crucial as keeping the economy thriving. Not only are they frontliners, but they are undoubtedly HEROES, too,” DOTr Secretary Arthur P. Tugade expressed.

DOTr OIC Assistant Secretary for Maritime VADM Narciso Vingson Jr., who also chairs the Inter-Agency Working Group tasked to firm up the DOTr’s proposal on the priority vaccination of Filipino seafarers in recognition of the vital role they play amid the present global crisis, presented the proposal and justification in a meeting with the IATF.
“The working group is in the unified position to push for the prioritization of Filipino seafarers in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program to secure their employment, and to ensure the safe shipping operations of essential goods amid the pandemic,” Asec. Vingson said.

Aside from DOTr, the working group is composed of officials from the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) through its Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office (MOAO). It also represents the local Licensed Manning Agencies through the membership of the Association of Licensed Manning Agencies (ALMA), Joint Manning Group (JMG), Filipino Association for Mariner’s Employment (FAME), and the Philippine Association of Manning Agencies and Ship Managers (PAMAS).

From falling under B3 (Other essential workers) or B5 (Overseas Filipino Workers) in the Vaccination Priority Framework, the Inter-Agency Working Group has requested for the reclassification of Filipino seafarers to A4 (Frontline personnel in essential sectors, including uniformed personnel and those in working sectors identified by the IATF as essential during ECQ). This makes seafarers move at the top 4 priority groups to be vaccinated.
With the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in the country, the IATF has adopted early this year the prioritization framework and criteria of the national immunization rollout to allocate the first tranches of vaccines given its limited global supply.

Furthermore, the prioritization of seafarers in the vaccination is based on the following grounds: Filipino seafarers are declared key workers globally and locally; Filipino seafarers are considered mobile, who, as part of their jobs, frequently enter various ports across the world; and shipping companies prefer their workforce to be vaccinated to ensure that their operations will remain smooth, unhampered, and somehow immune to the severe effects of COVID-19.

To further determine the specific population to be prioritized, the Working Group classified seafarers into two. Top priority will be given to active seafarers or those with recorded sea service within the last three (3) years, while new seafarers or those with last recorded sea service beyond 2018 shall be ranked second.
Per MARINA and POEA data, there are a total of 549,000 active seafarers registered in their system, wherein around 497,000 are those deployed overseas and 51,000 are serving locally. Meanwhile, a total of 181,000 seafarers are without updated sea service within the last three (3) years.

In summary, there are 730,651 Filipino seafarers who are for consideration in the A4 category.

Philippines COVID-19 Updates April 11, 2021

April 12, 2021
Philippines COVID-19 Updates April 11, 2021
Image from FDA Ph

From DOH, Here’s the latest COVID-19 update for today, April 11, 2021.

  • 11,681 new cases
  • 55,204 recovered
  • 201 deaths

Since the pandemic started, the Philippines had 864,868 of confirmed cases and fast approaching the 1 million mark, there have been 703,40 who recovered from the virus and 14,945 for the total number of deaths.

Earlier today, the Government has downgraded the quarantine classification of NCR + to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) starting tomorrow, Monday, April 12, 2021. Areas under MECQ will also include the city of Santiago in Quirino province, and Abra.

The areas listed below will be placed under general community quarantine (GCQ):

  • Cordillera Administrative Region
  • Batangas province
  • Tacloban City
  • Iligan City
  • Davao City
  • Lanao del Sur province
  • Quezon province

The rest of the country will be placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

DoH: Philippines COVID-19 Updates April 9, 2021

April 9, 2021
DoH: Philippines COVID-19 Updates April 9, 2021

For today, April 9, 2021, Department of Health (DoH) reported;

  • 12,225 new and confirmed cases
  • 946 recovered
  • 401 deaths – the highest in a single day

The country now have 840,554 of total confirmed cases of COVID-19 and currently with 178,351 active cases, 647,683 have recovered and 14,520 deaths.

You can go to https://doh.gov.ph/covid19tracker, for more details.

DoH: Philippines COVID-19 Updates April 8, 2021

April 8, 2021

Here’s the latest COVID-19 Update from Department of Health (DoH).

As of 4:00 PM, Today, April 8, 2021;
– 9,216 confirmed case
– 598 recovered
– 60 death

In total, there are 828,366 confirmed cases and 646,968 recovered from the virus. DoH reported that there were 14,119 deaths and currently have 167,279 active cases.

You can go to https://doh.gov.ph/covid19tracker, for a more details.

DoH: Philippines COVID-19 Updates April 5, 2021

April 5, 2021

Here’s the latest COVID-19 Update from Department of Health (DoH).

– 8,355 confirmed case
– 145 recovered
– 10 death

In total, there are 803,398 confirmed cases and at least 80% or 646,237 recovered from the virus. There were 13,435 deaths or the 1.67% to the total number of confirmed cases. DoH reports that there are currently 143, 726 active cases.

DoH: Philippines COVID-19 Updates February 3, 2021

February 3, 2021
DoH: Philippines COVID-19 Updates February 3, 2021

It’s the third day of the second month of 2021 and the Philippines just registered 1,266 confirmed cases of COVID-19, where 130 recovered and 68 deaths.

The Philippines’ total confirmed covid-19 cases is 530,118, where 487,721 recovered from the virus and an active case of 31,455, a total of 10,942 died from the virus.

DFA release advisory for non-OFW Filipinos and Foreign Nationals going to the Philippines.

February 2, 2021
DFA release advisory for non-OFW Filipinos and Foreign Nationals going to the Philippines.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) just release its latest advisory regarding non-OFW Filipinos and Foreign Nationals going to the Philippines.

The advisory basically list all the steps that the traveler needs to take and also what to expect when visiting or returning to the Philippines.

The post list down all the steps and fees that needs to be paid, and also things that you need to expect from the whole process; from registering to the electronic case investigation from (E-CIF), to the booking of your stay in Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ)-accredited quarantine hotel, to the total number of days it will take before you are cleared and the fees that you need to pay.

In total, everything goes well, the procedure will take at least 21 days and the traveller will spend an approximately PHP4,000.00.

I’ve embedded the whole advisory below.

You can also go here for more details.

DoH: A Total of 459,789 confirmed cases in the latest Philippines COVID-19 Updates

December 20, 2020

Department of Health (DoH) just release the latest stats on the Philippines fight against coronavirus a.k.a. COVID-19.

As of December 20, 2020, there have been 1,754 new confirmed cases in the country, 8,080 have recovered and 36 death because of COVID-19.

In total; there have been a total of 459,789 of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines, out of those confirmed cases 429,134 recovered, making the number of active cases to 21,708 with 8,947 deaths.

Experts warns that the number of confirmed cases in the Philippines could reach half million due to the “deteriorating compliance” with minimum health standards specially this holiday season.

DoH: Philippines COVID-19 Updates December 6, 2020

December 7, 2020

In their latest Covid-19 update, Department of Health (DoH) announced that there are 1,768 confirmed case today, December 6, 2020, then 9,062 have recovered and there have been 29 deaths for today.

In total, there are now 439,834 confirmed cases in the Philippines with 22,646 (5.1%) active cases and 408,634 (92.9%) have recovered from the virus, there are also 8,554 (1.94% ) of total reported deaths in the country.

In addition to the COVID-19 update, DoH urges the public to stay at home in celebrating the holiday season, since gatherings poses a greater risk of contracting COVID-19.

For more information regarding COVID-19, you can visit: https://www.doh.gov.ph/covid19tracker.

United Kingdom approves Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, safe for use “next week”

December 2, 2020

UK just approve the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use. BBC reports that “British regulator, the MHRA, says the jab, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, is safe for roll out next week.”

Pfizer first reported that their mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine was 90% effective against the coronavirus then later released an update that the vaccine is “95% effective against COVID-19 beginning 28 days after the first dose.

UK government already ordered 40 million doses – which is enough to vaccinate 20 million people, with two shots each. The first 800,000 doses will be arriving in the country in the coming days and fifty (50) hospitals are on standby and vaccination centres in venues such as conference centres are being set up in preparation for mass immunizations.

Last week, Pfizer release a video thanking all the participants in their COVID-19 vaccine trial, which is a crucial part in developing the their mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine.

Source: BCC, Rappler

Moderna announces that its COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5% effective

November 17, 2020

US-based Moderna just announced that their COVID-19 vaccine, the mRNA-1273 have been found to be 94.5% effective, after its Phase 3 study, which the company is calling the COVE study. Moderna’s COVE study, have more than 30,000 participants in the U.S.

Similar to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was reported to be 90% effective, Moderna’s vaccine candidate is a two-dose vaccine that needs to be administer 28 days apart. Base on their reports, 95 out of 30,000 participants, have been tested positive for COVID-19, 90 cases of COVID-19 were included in the placebo group, while the other 5 cases are those who received mRNA-1273 vaccine.

Within the 90 cases in the placebo group, 11 are severe cases. Moderna futher brokedown the 95 cases which includes 15 older adults (ages 65+) and 20 participants identifying as being from diverse communities (including 12 Hispanic or LatinX, 4 Black or African Americans, 3 Asian Americans and 1 multiracial).

Moderna classed the side-effects of the vaccine as mild or moderate; On the first dose, 2.7% participants had injection site pain classed as severe; after the second dose, 9.5% of participants experience fatigue, 8.9% experience muscle pains, 5.2% have joint pain, 4.5% experience headache, 4.1% felt pain and 2% had redness of the skin at the injection site.

In a separate announcement, Moderna said that their mRNA-1273 vaccine will remain stable for 30 days at 2° to 8°C (36° to 46°F), the temperature of a standard home or medical refrigerator. It can be stored for 6 months in storage at -20° C (-4°F), 30 days in a refrigerated conditions and up to 12 hours at room temperature conditions.

Moderna will submit the findings of their Phase 3 COVE study for a peer-reviewed publication and are currently seeking regulatory approval.

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is 90% effective from its Phase 3 clinical trial

November 9, 2020

This is a press release by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech regarding the first results from Phase 3 clinical trial, which began last July 27 with 43,538 participants. Their mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, against COVID-19 has been found 90% effective in participants in their Phase 3 clinical trial. Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is a 2-dose vaccine, which are applied in 7 days interval.

Pfizer expect to supply up to 50 million vaccine doses by the end of 2020 and manufacture up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021. Pfizer and BioNTech plan to submit data from the full Phase 3 trial for scientific peer-review publication.

Here’s the full text of the press release;

NEW YORK and MAINZ, GERMANY, November 9, 2020 — Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced their mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, against SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated evidence of efficacy against COVID-19 in participants without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, based on the first interim efficacy analysis conducted on November 8, 2020 by an external, independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) from the Phase 3 clinical study. After discussion with the FDA, the companies recently elected to drop the 32-case interim analysis and conduct the first interim analysis at a minimum of 62 cases. Upon the conclusion of those discussions, the evaluable case count reached 94 and the DMC performed its first analysis on all cases.

The case split between vaccinated individuals and those who received the placebo indicates a vaccine efficacy rate above 90%, at seven days after the second dose. This means that protection is achieved 28 days after the initiation of the vaccination, which consists of a 2-dose schedule. As the study continues, the final vaccine efficacy percentage may vary. The DMC has not reported any serious safety concerns and recommends that the study continues to collect additional safety and efficacy data as planned. The data will be discussed with regulatory authorities worldwide.

“Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19,” said Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO. “We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen. With today’s news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis. We look forward to sharing additional efficacy and safety data generated from thousands of participants in the coming weeks.”

“I want to thank the thousands of people who volunteered to participate in the clinical trial, our academic collaborators and investigators at the study sites, and our colleagues and collaborators around the world who are dedicating their time to this crucial endeavor,” added Bourla. “We could not have come this far without the tremendous commitment of everyone involved.”

“The first interim analysis of our global Phase 3 study provides evidence that a vaccine may effectively prevent COVID-19. This is a victory for innovation, science and a global collaborative effort,” said Prof. Ugur Sahin, BioNTech Co-founder and CEO. “When we embarked on this journey 10 months ago this is what we aspired to achieve. Especially today, while we are all in the midst of a second wave and many of us in lockdown, we appreciate even more how important this milestone is on our path towards ending this pandemic and for all of us to regain a sense of normality. We will continue to collect further data as the trial continues to enroll for a final analysis planned when a total of 164 confirmed COVID-19 cases have accrued. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to make this important achievement possible.”

The Phase 3 clinical trial of BNT162b2 began on July 27 and has enrolled 43,538 participants to date, 38,955 of whom have received a second dose of the vaccine candidate as of November 8, 2020. Approximately 42% of global participants and 30% of U.S. participants have racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. The trial is continuing to enroll and is expected to continue through the final analysis when a total of 164 confirmed COVID-19 cases have accrued. The study also will evaluate the potential for the vaccine candidate to provide protection against COVID-19 in those who have had prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2, as well as vaccine prevention against severe COVID-19 disease. In addition to the primary efficacy endpoints evaluating confirmed COVID-19 cases accruing from seven days after the second dose, the final analysis now will include, with the approval of the FDA, new secondary endpoints evaluating efficacy based on cases accruing 14 days after the second dose as well. The companies believe that the addition of these secondary endpoints will help align data across all COVID-19 vaccine studies and allow for cross-trial learnings and comparisons between these novel vaccine platforms. The companies have posted an updated version of the study protocol at https://www.pfizer.com/science/coronavirus.

Pfizer and BioNTech are continuing to accumulate safety data and currently estimate that a median of two months of safety data following the second (and final) dose of the vaccine candidate – the amount of safety data specified by the FDA in its guidance for potential Emergency Use Authorization – will be available by the third week of November. Additionally, participants will continue to be monitored for long-term protection and safety for an additional two years after their second dose.

Along with the efficacy data generated from the clinical trial, Pfizer and BioNTech are working to prepare the necessary safety and manufacturing data to submit to the FDA to demonstrate the safety and quality of the vaccine product produced. Based on supply projections, we expect to supply globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and manufacture up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021. Pfizer and BioNTech plan to submit data from the full Phase 3 trial for scientific peer-review publication.

DoH: Philippines COVID-19 Updates

October 22, 2020

Department of Health just release the latest COVID-19 update for the Philippines;

DOH COVID-19 CASE BULLETIN #222

As of 4PM today, October 22, 2020, the Department of Health reports the total number of COVID-19 cases at 363,888, after 1,664 newly-confirmed cases were added to the list of COVID-19 patients.

DOH likewise announces 843 recoveries. This brings the total number of recoveries to 312,333.

Note: Of the 1,664 reported cases today, 1,526 (92%) occurred within the recent 14 days (October 9 – October 22, 2020). The top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were NCR (438 or 29%), Region 4A (235 or 15%) and Region 6 (170 or 11%).

Of the 38 deaths, 25 occurred in October (66%), 9 in September (24%) 1 in August (3%) 1 in July (3%) 1 in June (3%) and 1 in May (3%). Deaths were from NCR (11 or 29%), Region 4A (8 or 21%), Region 11 (7 or 18%), Region 6 (6 or 16%), Region 7 (3 or 8%), Region 12 (2 or 5%), and Region 2 (1 or 3%).

19 duplicates were removed from the total case count. Of these, 5 recovered cases and 2 deaths have been removed.

Moreover, 11 cases previously tagged as recovered were reclassified as deaths.
9 labs were not able to submit their data to the COVID-19 Data Repository System (CDRS) on October 21, 2020.

These numbers undergo constant cleaning and validation.

Worldwide, we now have 41,281,842 confirmed cases, with 1,132,169 deaths. So far 28,144,949 have recovered from the virus and 296,886 new cases reported today.

GMA: COVID-19 Update in the Philippines and around the world

October 13, 2020
GMA: COVID-19 Update in the Philippines and around the world

The Philippines now has 342,816 confirmed cases with 6,332 deaths and 293,152 have recovered from the virus. NCR still have the most number of confirmed cases.

Worldwide, we not have a total of 37,838,286 confirmed cases, 1,081,295 deaths. United States (7,840,482), India (7,175,880) and Brazil (5,103,408) are the top 3 in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases.