The Duterte government was prodded on Monday to tap preventive treatments and repurposed drugs as it awaits delivery of anti-Covid vaccines.
In a news statement Monday, Senator Imee Marcos pressed anew the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider preventive treatments for Covid-19 and allow wider emergency use approval of repurposed drugs like Ivermectin in face of government’s “erratic timeline to procure vaccines.”
Marcos made the suggestion after the expected arrival Sunday of Russia’s Sputnik vaccine was delayed, recalling earlier delays have taken place even from the COVAX facility of the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Let us use preventive treatments and repurposed drugs while waiting for the vaccines,” the senator suggested, adding: “setbacks in delivery timelines are taking place worldwide, not just in the Philippines.”
For instance, Marcos noted that India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has cut back on its vaccine exports as it faces an overwhelming surge in cases, while the EU and the UK continue to bicker over production and delivery delays, Marcos explained.
Moreover, Marcos recalled the drawback in vaccine shipments of Moderna to rich countries like Canada and Britain, adding that safety reviews also delayed the rollout of AstraZeneca and the J&J vaccine in other countries.
“We need a back-up plan to ease the burden on our health-care system,’’ she said, reminding that the global vaccine supply will remain uncertain for months to come. “So what’s the back-up plan to stop infection and transmission, especially of these Covid variants?” the senator wants to know.
Marcos recalled that repurposing drugs to treat Covid-19 has been undergoing further studies worldwide following testimonials of relief from patients and doctors alike, particularly in the use of Ivermectin, originally an anti-parasitic drug that has been used in humans to treat diseases such as elephantiasis and onchocersiasis or “river blindness.”
Reminding that the FDA granted emergency use of Ivermectin but only to certain hospitals, “I hope the hesitation is not because it is beholden to the interests of big pharma, since the drug costs only P35,” Marcos said.
The senator recalled recent results of a study by infectious disease experts in Singapore that showed the likelihood of Covid-19 infection was reduced with the use of hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, and a povidone-iodine throat spray among some 3,000 trial participants after the May 2020 outbreak in the dorms of migrant workers.
She added that only 201,521 Filipinos have so far received complete vaccination since the government rollout started in March, with 1,205,697 having received their first dose, according to the April 21 report of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
Moreover, Marcos reminded that the government’s year-end goal is to administer 148 million jabs of single-dose and double-dose vaccines to cover 78 million Filipinos, or more than two-thirds of the country’s population of about 108 million, as recommended by the World Health Organization to achieve herd immunity.
“That means,” she added, “the government needs to achieve a daily vaccination rate of about 313,446 people every single day starting May until the end of the year,” pointing out that the latest IATF report said the fastest vaccination rate in a day has only been 93,849 people.
Read full article on BusinessMirror
