Robredo cites steps to take before next Covid-19 surge; vax, prevention are priorities (Sabong News)

Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday, March 19, emphasized the need for the country to learn from the lessons of the past to prepare for a possible Covid-19 surge in the future. If she wins in May 2022, she will focus on vaccinating more Filipinos and ramping up the country’s capacity to test, trace, and treat. “Hindi po malayo na pumasok ulit ito sa atin ‘yung another surge. Dapat natuto na tayo sa lessons na nakuha natin in the past two years at lessons na pinagdaanan ng ibang bansa (It is not impossible that another surge will come to us. We should learn from the lessons we got in the past two years and the lessons that other countries went through),” the Vice President stressed during the “Comelec’s PiliPinas Debates 2022: The Turning Point”. The aspiring president noted that Hong Kong is experiencing a new surge of Covid-19 cases because of its low vaccination rate, especially in the senior population. She hit the current vaccination rate of the Philippines, saying that only 58 percent of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated while only 16 percent has received their Covid-19 vaccine booster, which is given three months after the second dose. With 77 million Filipinos targeted to be vaccinated with the vaccine, the Vice President noted that the country still lags by 13 million people. The latest figures showed that the Philippines has already vaccinated 59 percent of the population. “So ‘yung una kong gagawin, sisiguraduhin ko na maabot natin ‘yung targets natin and malampasan pa (that’s the first thing I will do, I will make sure that we will reach our targets and surpass it even),” Robredo said. “Wag na natin hintayin susunod na surge (Let us not wait for another surge),” she added, emphasizing the need to “beef up” testing, tracing, and treatment. Robredo identified the problems in the country’s test, trace, and treat strategy, noting that tests were expensive while tracing was not done properly because of the lack of a nationwide centralized app. She also highlighted the need to roll out the universal health care and capacitate hospitals and health care personnel. Robredo attended the presidential debate with eight other presidential candidates. Former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the only presidential candidate who did not join the debate.