Keeping our guards up
The announcement this week from pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech heightens hopes for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, maybe sooner than many of us expected. Pfizer announced that a preliminary analysis suggests that their experimental vaccine appears to keep nine out of 10 people from getting the disease.
This news may excite us but it should not be a cause for us to let our guards down. The vaccine will have to undergo the expedited process of getting regulatory approval from US and Philippine authorities. Early next year, said Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, the vaccine might be available already to Filipinos.
Pegged at $5 per shot to be given in two doses three weeks apart, the vaccine contains a genetic blueprint, known as mRNA, for the virus’s “spike” protein, according to the Scientific American. “The infusion of viral mRNA triggers human cells to make and display the spike, prompting an immune reaction against future infection.”
Again, we keep our hopes high but we cannot afford to let our guards down. The following haiku still stands: “We isolate now, So when we gather again, No one is missing.”
Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Watch your distance.
Emergency Operation Center (EOC) deputy chief implementer and Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera warned the other day that if new daily COVID-19 cases will continue to outnumber recoveries, they will be forced to bring back granular lockdowns in Cebu City’s barangays and establishments.
This warning came after it has been observed that many people are no longer taking the necessary precautions. On social media posts I often see a gathering of friends and co-workers indoors, in restaurants and in the workplaces, not wearing masks and not watching their distance. The other day, a newly-opened shoe store in Lahug was closed by authorities after people flocked its display of shoes on sale at three pairs for only P998.
These past few months show that lockdowns are not necessary but only if people follow the minimum public health protocols; wear masks in public, work from home if possible, watch your distance, and avoid staying for a long time in indoor places where people gather; and only if we avoid a gathering of friends coming from different households especially over plates of food and bottles of drinks where people enjoy the company of others and therefore tend to let their guards down.
On the part of the authorities, they should continue with their targeted measures, particularly effective and extensive contact tracing and testing. Let us learn from the hard lessons in Europe where the number of cases, including hospitalizations and deaths, declined in May and June but are now rising again at an alarming rate.
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Mentally, there are simple ways to cope in these abnormal times. We had a talk last month with Dr. Joyce Ann Maglaque, an expert in the field of psychiatry, for the Open Bar podcast of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Eastern Visayas Region. Dr. Maglaque shared some practical tips to improve our mental health amid the pandemic.
“Integrate self-care in your routine, pause or STOP (Stop, Take breaths, Observe yourself and your feelings, Perceive), unload stressors for an hour, smile when you wake up from sleep, practice mindfulness and give yourself some compassion.”
“The self-care that we need right now is being a friend with ourselves,” said Dr. Maglaque, “since we do not know when it (COVID-19 pandemic) will end, the stress reaction of our body is prolonged. But what makes it dysfunctional is when we don’t do measures to help ourselves.”
She also acknowledged that digital fatigue is on the rise because of the prevalent use of video conference and other digital tools to keep people connected. The blue light from these gadgets and computers can affect our sleeping patterns. Dr. Maglaque said that we should allocate time to rest the eyes and take breaks. “What’s best is for us to take breaks. Try not to have screen time during breaks. Try not to use your screen an hour before sleeping.”
The clinical psychiatrist also advised families to establish clear boundaries between work time and family time at home, especially for those parents who need to help their children in distance learning. “It’s important for each member to have an ‘alone’ time to realign with one’s self,” she said. To access her entire talk, you may search the ‘The Open Bar Podcast’ at Spotify and iTunes.
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