Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez believes that vaccines will not only save lives during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic but also jobs for Filipinos.
During the launch of “Resbakuna sa Botika” at Southstar Drug in Marikina City Thursday, Lopez highlighted the critical role of vaccines in helping the economy to remain open despite the surge in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant.
“We now see in Omicron, cases increased to 35,000 but only below 2,000 are severe and critical. During Delta (surge), that immediately rose to 3,000 to 4,000 cases, but now it is only at 2,000,” he said in Filipino.
Government data show that as of January 16, around 1,780 cases were severe and critical despite active Covid-19 cases climbing to 287,856.
During this period, the country has achieved its target of fully vaccinating 54 million individuals.
Last September 9 when the country was experiencing the spike in cases due to Delta strain, active cases reached 166,672 with 3,473 severe and critical cases.
Lopez said the country can now afford to stay in Alert Level 3 due to the higher vaccination rate despite the Omicron surge as health facilities are not congested.
“If our hospitals are not full, we will not lockdown. When there is no lockdown, employment continues, growth and re-opening of our economy continues,” he added.
The DTI chief also urged Filipinos to avail the booster shots now available for free in pharmacies in Metro Manila through the newly launched “Resbakuna sa Botika”.
On Thursday, the government and partner pharmacies pilot tested the “Resbakuna sa Botika” in the National Capital Region, bringing booster shots closer to the public.
The government targets to expand this initiative throughout the country after a week of pilot run.
Source: Philippines News Agency
