OCTA urges next admin to continue centralized pandemic response

FILE: An employee gets a Covid-19 booster shot at the vaccination center of a business process outsourcing (BPO) company in Makati City on Tuesday (March 8, 2022). (PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.)

MANILA – OCTA Research on Wednesday advised the incoming administration to keep its pandemic response centralized, similar to the current system implemented by the Duterte administration.

“Iyong One Health Command system maganda ‘yang ipagpatuloy, ‘yong medyo centralized ‘yong response. Although medyo pahina na rin ‘yong pandemic nandyan pa rin ‘yong virus (The One Health Command system is a good measure to be kept, one where there is a centralized response. Although the pandemic is slowing down, the virus is still there),” OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said in a Laging Handa briefing.

On top of this, he said President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. must focus on improving the country’s contact tracing.

Months after the first local Covid-19 case was reported, the Duterte administration established the One Hospital Command Center, the main task of which is to ensure efficient health facility referral.

For David, the current administration managed its pandemic response “well”, including the vaccination of the population.

He said the vaccine and booster rollout proved to be effective in minimizing the need to impose lockdowns in times of a surge.

“Ito’y napatunayan na na malaking tulong sa pag-manage ng pandemic kaya kahit noong January hindi tayo nagsarado, hindi tayo nag-lockdown. Iyan ang gusto natin na management na dahil bakunado na tayo hindi na natin kailangang maghigpit sa ngayon (This proved to be a great help in the pandemic response, which is why last January we did not resort to lockdowns. We want that kind of management where we would no longer require the strictest restriction since we’re already vaccinated),” he said.

Metro Manila is at “low risk” classification, but David reported a slight uptick in its Covid-19 cases from an average of 79 per day in the past week to 90 at present.

The same goes for Region 4-A (Calabarzon), Western Visayas, and some areas in Central Luzon where Covid-19 infections are also seeing an increase, he said.

To prevent further rise in cases, David said the public must do its part and follow minimum public health standards as well as get vaccinated.