DOH to carry out Marcos’ directives on pandemic recovery, healthcare system

The Department of Health (DOH) vowed Tuesday to carry out the directives of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on COVID-19 pandemic recovery and improving the country’s healthcare system.

The DOH made the remark after Marcos, during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), said that a stronger healthcare system is needed as the country could no longer afford to impose another lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President also said that continuous monitoring of the healthcare system and ramping up of the COVID-19 booster coverage are important to help bring back the businesses’ full capacity after being affected by the pandemic for the past two years.

DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said they have now shifted their focus on not just protecting the people’s health, but also the economy.

“It is important that the DOH is agile based on our circumstances. Our focus has fittingly shifted towards saving lives while also protecting livelihoods. We are promoting vaccination on top of our usual health protocols, instead of imposing restrictions,” she said in a statement.

The agency likewise committed to form a close coordination and deployment of necessary resources to keep the healthcare systems ready to respond to both COVID and non-COVID cases.

DOH also vowed to ramp up its booster rollout across the country “to further strengthen the wall of immunity against COVID-19 and improve health literacy to instill vaccine confidence within communities.”

“We are grateful that President Marcos sees the true value of vaccination, especially as we must maintain a strong wall of immunity against COVID-19. We must protect ourselves to enjoy this new normal of face-to-face classes and open businesses,” Public Health Services Team OIC-Undersecretary Beverly Lorraine Ho said.

Based on latest data, at least 71.5 million Filipinos are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while some 15.9 million have received their booster doses.—AOL, GMA News