Robredo: Data shows COVID-19 may be suppressed even without vaccine

Nineteen countries have shown that it was possible to "suppress" the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) even without a vaccine, Vice President Leni Robredo said on Tuesday.

In a Facebook post, Robredo presented a study by a leading medical journal which showed that 19 countries have  limited their new COVID-19 infections to five or fewer per million population per day.

The Lancet said these 19 countries were Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, New Zealand, Uganda, Togo, Pakistan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Uruguay, South Korea, Finland, Cuba, and Rwanda.

“Pinapakita sa table na ‘to na possible naman ma-suppress kahit wala pang vaccine. If 19 countries were able to do it, no reason why we can’t. Kaya natin ‘to,” Robredo said in a Facebook post.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday criticized Robredo after she said on several occasions that the government could have done more to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He said that a vaccine was needed to control the virus.

The Lancet said COVID-19 “can and should” be suppressed through non-pharmaceutical interventions such as wearing face masks, practicing social distancing, banning mass gatherings, and protecting the vulnerable population.

The study also observed “moderate transmission” of COVID-19 in the Philippines with 37.5 new infections and 0.5 new deaths per million per day in August.

“This study was done using August data. Our September numbers are getting better compared to our August numbers,” Robredo said.

“But, perhaps, it would even be better if we set weekly or monthly targets. Para naman ‘yung assessment natin would depend on how near we are to our targets and we make sure that all our efforts are focused on achieving those targets,” she added.

The Vice President earlier said that periodic assessments of the country’s COVID-19 response is better than extending the state of calamity to 2021.

Malacañang later countered that periodic assessments were already being performed regularly. 

The Philippines has recorded 291,789 infections as of Tuesday afternoon, still the highest across Southeast Asia. -NB, GMA News