LGUS PIN HOPE ON COVID PILL

BY IME SORNITO AND GLENDA TAYONA

ILOILO – Local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas wary of the Omicron variant of the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and a possible post-holiday surge in cases hope a newly-developed oral pill could provide relief.

Molnupiravir has been clinically proven to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death due to COVID-19.

The provincial government here is the latest to express intent to procure this oral anti-COVID-19 drug.

Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said he already gave word to the Provincial Health Office (PHO) to procure this medicine for 12 district hospitals and the Iloilo Provincial Hospital.  

“We are preparing for a surge that can happen in January,” Defensor told Panay News.

Earlier, Iloilo City’s Mayor Jerry Treñas announced that the city government will procure Molnupiravir next year. It has P5 million for this.

Last week, Roxas City in Capiz province was granted with a compassionate special permit (CSP) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to procure Molnupiravir – the first LGU outside the National Capital Region given such permit.

“(T)he Food and Drug Administration interposes no objection to the proposed importation of the Molnupiravir 200mg (milligram) capsule,” said FDA Director IV Center for Drug Regulation and Research, Jesusa Joyce Cirunay.

Mayor Ronnie Dadivas represented the city government-run Temporary Treatment and Management Facility (TTMF) in signing a memorandum of agreement with the supplier.

Molnupiravir was developed by United States-based pharmaceutical companies Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Merck, Sharp and Dohme. It was originally developed to treat flu.

HOSPITALS READY

Meanwhile, in preparation for a surge in cases, hospitals’ logistics, beds and mechanical ventilators are being prepared in hospitals across the region, according to Dr. Jocelyn Te, spokesperson of the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 6.

As of Dec. 5, the region’s healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) was low at 25.61 percent – 529 of the 2,066 total beds were occupied.

Data also showed that the HCUR of all provinces and highly urbanized cities in the region were classified as low risk.

As to beds dedicated to coronavirus patients, DOH’s Health System Capacity Monitoring showed a low risk status at 7.95 percent. Thirty-one of the 390 total COVID beds were occupied.

Meantime, of the 146 ICU (intensive care unit) beds, 27.40 percent or 40 beds were occupied, while 441 out of 1,348 isolation beds were utilized.

NO OMICRON YET

DOH, the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center, and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health yesterday reported that no Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of concern case was detected from the 48 samples sequenced on Dec. 8.

On Nov. 26, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated Omicron a variant of concern. This decision was based on the evidence that Omicron has several mutations that may have an impact on how it behaves, for example, on how easily it spreads or the severity of illness it causes. 

Yesterday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said early data indicate the Omicron coronavirus variant may more easily reinfect people who have already had the virus or been vaccinated than previous variants, but could also cause milder disease.

But he stressed more data was needed before drawing firm conclusions, and urged countries everywhere to boost their surveillance to help provide a clearer picture of how Omicron is behaving.

The hopeful assessments came as global concern grew over the heavily mutated variant, which has forced dozens of nations to reimpose border restrictions and raised the possibility of a return to economically punishing lockdowns.

Even if it does turn out that Omicron causes less severe disease, Tedros warned against slacking off vigilance against the virus. “Any complacency now will cost lives,” he warned.

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan agreed, pointing out that so far the data indicates the variant is “efficiently transmitting, and probably more efficiently transmitting even than the Delta variant”.

“That does not mean that the virus is unstoppable,” he said. “But it means the virus is more efficient at transmitting between human beings. And, therefore, we have to redouble our efforts to break those chains of transmission to protect ourselves to protect others.”/PN  

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