Cayetano Tells Philippines To Wait For COVID-19 Vaccine
WAIT FOR VACCINE – House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the Philippines should put its trust in God while waiting for a vaccine for COVID-19.
During his opening speech for President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), Cayetano talked about the government’s plan to tackle the coronavirus. The House speaker emphasized that the government should continue to adapt and improvise while waiting for a vaccine.
Malacañang previously expressed that the Philippines needed a vaccine to successfully eradicate COVID-19 in the country. However, several countries had already flattened the spread of the disease even without the help of any vaccine.
The Philippines is approaching its 6th month with the deadly disease. But, the number of coronavirus cases continued to rise. Currently, there are over 80,000 reported cases of COVID-19 with an average of 2,000 daily reported cases despite the strictest lockdown in Asia.
Instead of adapting the aggressive testing, detection, and isolation of coronavirus patients, Cayetano said the best thing the country could do is to “manage” the growing number of cases. Based on a live-stream hosted by GMA, Cayetano stated:
Congress needs to continue to adapt, innovate, and manage if we are to stay above water until a vaccine or a cure is found which by the most conservative estimates would not be viable until the end of the year or early next year at the soonest.
Meantime, we must trust in God and remain strong.
Most experts believe that a vaccine for COVID-19 would be available at the end of the year or early next year. Several tests have already proven its effectiveness against the virus. However, with the continued spike in COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, the public is now concerned if the Philippines could wait that long.
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