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MANILA, Feb. 12 The Department of Health (DOH), the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and the UP-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) confirm the detection of nineteen (19) additional COVID-19 cases positive for the B.1.1.7 variant (UK variant). This brings the total B.1.1.7 variant cases in the country to 44. The DOH, UP-PGC, and UP-NIH further report that no other variant of concern was detected, and 60 samples from Region 7 fitting sequencing criteria were negative for the B.1.1.7 variant.
The 19 additional cases were part of the sixth batch of 718 samples sequenced by the UP-PGC on February 8, 2021. The sixth batch of samples were sourced from all regions, except BARMM, and were selected to ensure representation of each region as well as areas where spikes in cases have been reported.
MANILA, Feb. 5 Following the sustained biosurveillance efforts of the government, the Department of Health (DOH), the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) and the UP-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) confirm the detection of eight (8) additional COVID-19 cases positive for the B.1.1.7 variant (UK variant). This brings the total B.1.1.7 variant cases in the country to 25. The DOH, UP-PGC, and UP-NIH further report that no other variant of concern has been detected.
Three (3) of the 8 additional cases are from Bontoc, Mountain Province. Of the 3 cases, two (2) females aged 25 and 54 were identified as close contacts of a previously reported B.1.1.7 variant case who is part of the Bontoc cluster. The third case is a 31-year-old male whose link to the Bontoc cluster is still being verified. To date, the 54-year-old female has already recovered, while the remaining two are active cases and are currently being managed.
( MANILA BULLETIN)
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. recently announced that initial doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines are expected to be delivered in mid-February through the COVAX facility. The government is aiming to inoculate 70 million Filipinos by the end of this year.
As the public anticipates this vital initiative of the government against the pandemic, the question in mind would be:
Vaccine storage and distribution
There are two strategies to store COVID-19 vaccines as these require specific storage requirements, said Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
Vergeire said for vaccines requiring 2 to 8 degree Celsius and -20 degrees Celsius temperature, the supplier will deliver the vaccines to the DOH rented private warehouse or to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), “which will serve as the government’s centralized vaccine hub.”
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has decided to extend the road clearing operations to February 15, allowing local government units to have more time to craft their vaccination plan against the COVID-19.