MANILA, Philippines — In his first State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised his government will no longer implement lockdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and build more specialty hospitals in other parts of the country.
Marcos assured Filipinos that the government will no longer impose lockdowns as his administration tries to balance the health of the people and the recovery of the economy from the impacts of the pandemic.
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The country’s COVID-19 alert level system will stay for now, according to Marcos who said the government is studying other classifications that will fit the changing nature of COVID-19 and the situation in the country.
The chief executive also said the rollout of COVID-19 boosters will continue to enhance the defenses of people against the virus.
The Philippines will launch a COVID-19 immunization program that aims to administer boosters to 50% of the government’s target population in the first 100 days of his administration.
More than 71.5 million people have completed vaccination against COVID-19, but fewer people are taking booster shots. According to the Department of Health, only around 15.9 million have gotten boosters.
Marcos added the government will strengthen the dissemination of accurate information on COVID-19, especially on the importance of life-saving jabs.
Just like his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos also pushed for the creation of the country’s own Center for Disease Control and Prevention and a vaccine institute.
The president has yet to appoint a health secretary even as the Philippines faces a renewed spike in cases and prepares to respond to the threats of monkeypox, which was recently declared by the World Health Organization as a global health emergency. He, however, appointed Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire as the officer-in-charge of the DOH.
Specialty hospitals outside Metro Manila
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and widened cracks in the country’s healthcare system including barriers to accessing healthcare services, and the grim situation of medical workers who are chronically overworked but underpaid.
In response, the chief executive vowed to build hospitals in other parts of the Philippines in a bid to bring essential health services closer to the people.
“Beyond the issues that the pandemic has brought, the need for a stronger health care system is self-evident. We must bring medical services to the people and not wait for them to come to our hospitals and healthcare centers,” Marcos said.
He also said that clinics and rural health units where doctors, nurses, midwives, and medical technologists will go “once, twice a week” will be set up.
“This will make it easier for sick people to get treatment without having to travel far,” Marcos said.
The president added the government is working to increase the supply of medicines in the country. He said he has started discussions with pharmaceutical firms in the Philippines and abroad, while the Department of Trade and Industry is in talks with potential manufacturers of generic drugs.
Marcos also vowed to “exert all efforts to improve the welfare of our doctors, nurses, and other medical frontliners.”