Un-vaccinated up to now

On the eve of marking the first year after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) made beachhead in Philippine shores, we had another case of infection in our editorial office. Just one case was enough to send us all close contacts in our editorial office to undergo immediate swab testing as per our company’s anti-COVID protocols.

Fortunately, it turned out negative result for me after going through reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. It was a scary experience, especially for one who was included in the statistics of the Department of Health (DOH) on COVID-19 cases in our country in August last year. Thank God, it was just a case of being asymptomatic and later became part of the statistics on recoveries almost a month after.

Thank goodness for the strict observance of wearing masks and face shields, washing hands and alcohol cleansing, thermal checks before entry, among other minimum health protocols strictly imposed in our company. None of us got infected. My staff lives in Tondo, one of the COVID-19 “hot spots” in the city of Manila. Most likely, it is a case of community transmission. He developed flu-like symptoms while his wife ended up with pneumonia. They are now recuperating from their home quarantine.

It was a pleasant surprise, however, that RT-PCR results comes out faster now. This I found out from my latest swab test. The results came out two hours later that same day. This is a big improvement from last year’s capability when it used to take at least three to seven days before one can get the RT-PCR results.

Definitely, the “ramping up” of the laboratory facilities is working well for the government’s anti-COVID responses.

Under the directions of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of the Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) co-chaired by DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, there are now 176 molecular laboratories and 54 gene expert laboratories all around the country that do the RT-PCR. A lot of testing capacity has improved immensely with the entry and participation of the private sector.

Considering a year ago, we have only the DOH-run Research Institute on Tropical Medicines (RITM) and two other government-operated laboratories doing the RT-PCR.

Then came the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to the rescue with additional testing centers put up in Metro Manila.

That was in the early part of the pandemic last year when Metro Manila was then the epicenter of COVID-19 cases. One year later, Metro Manila again tops in COVID-19 cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) advisory then to all COVID-affected countries was to undertake “testing, testing, testing.” In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte designated the government’s “testing czar,” presidential adviser for flagship projects Vivencio “Vince” Dizon.

Both public and private laboratories, including those operated by the Red Cross report directly to the DOH all their respective COVID-19 positive cases tested on daily basis. The PRC even added its latest RT-PCR-based testing using saliva – billed as much cheaper, safer, and faster turn-around of COVID-19 test results.

So this greatly enhanced testing capability should not cause fear and unduly scare the public. This is perhaps why we are seeing more numbers of COVID-19 cases being reported lately. While it is indeed a cause of concern, this should comfort us that these carriers were being detected and being isolated in quarantine facilities or treated immediately in hospitals. At least, early detection could stop further spread of local or community transmissions.

More so now that COVID-19 mutations from United Kingdom (UK), South Africa and the Brazilian variants that are found to be more transmissible have already reached also our shores. When the UK variant was first detected in December last year, President Duterte approved the DOH recommendation to add another layer of testing that would be handled by the Philippine Genome Center.

As far as presidential spokesman Harry Roque sees it, these foreign variants are apparently one of the sources of the latest uptick of COVID-19 cases in our country. Roque surmised this after he was found positive for COVID-19. At the outset, Roque swore he has been most careful and compliant with minimum health protocols, especially while going around to visit other parts of the country.

Roque’s last trip took him in Ilocos Norte last Friday for the ceremonial roll out of the vaccination of health care workers in that province. Roque justified his trips as part of his efforts to help the local government officials in the province push the government’s campaign to encourage Filipinos to undergo anti-COVID-19 vaccines.

After 35 times being tested in the past, using both swab and antigen, Roque swore it “shocked” him after being told he was COVID-19 positive. The gallivanting presidential spokesman sadly admitted he, too, is now in the DOH statistics of the pandemic for this year.

As of yesterday, Roque though has not disclosed yet if his positive COVID test result has undergone genome sequencing. At least, if he did he can use his particular case to back up his suspicions the spike of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines was partly due to the foreign mutations of the pandemic.

At the weekly meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) at Malacanang last Monday, President Duterte pointedly asked Roque how he got COVID positive results. In reply, Roque told the President he attended the vaccination roll outs mostly done in the hospitals of the provinces he went to.

The concern of the Chief Executive obviously stems from the fact that Roque was with him in Dumaguete City last Thursday (March 11), or four days before the presidential spokesman turned positive for COVID-19. Photos and videos of one event there showed Roque was closely behind the President.

This was our similar concern as a close contact of an unknown COVID-19 carrier. This is the big challenge of how to effectively battle an unseen enemy while we remain un-vaccinated up to now.