Robredo cites data showing that countries beat COVID-19 while waiting for the vaccine

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday cited data challenging President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be won without a vaccine.

Robredo cited a table published by The Lancet COVID-19 Commission, released last July by The Lancet medical journal to help governments, United Nations institutions and civil groups combat the pandemic.

The table, based on data collected last August, ranked countries according to their effective reproduction rate, that is, the rate of transmission of the coronavirus.

The Philippines ranked 66th out of 91 countries.

Robredo posted this comment on Facebook, written in part in Filipino, in a table included in the study: “This table shows that it is possible to suppress [the coronavirus] even when no vaccine is available. If 19 countries could do it, there’s no reason why we can’t. We can do this.”

“This study was conducted with data from August. Our September figures are improving compared to our August figures, ”he added. “But maybe it would be even better if we set weekly or monthly goals. That way, our assessment would depend on how close we are to our goals and we make sure that all of our efforts are focused on achieving those goals. “

The study, published on September 14, took into account the number of tests during the month compared to the positive cases and the deaths registered. He also noted the effective reproduction rate, which indicates whether broadcasts are decreasing or increasing.

There are 19 countries in the “suppression” area, including the COVID-19 response models Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, New Zealand, Korea and Cuba. This means that these countries and others have managed to suppress the coronavirus.

The Philippines is in the middle of the spectrum, the “moderate” area, which means it has more than 10, but fewer than 50 cases per million per day.

The table that Robredo cited in his Facebook post is part of The Lancet COVID-19 Commission Statement on the occasion of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

LINK: Statement from The Lancet COVID-19 Commission

Robredo’s comments were another response to Duterte’s sarcastic comment Monday night, when he invited Robredo to spray pesticides across the country to kill the virus. Duterte made the statement to emphasize that the best thing to do to prevent infection would be to keep wearing masks while waiting for a vaccine to be available.

Shortly after Duterte’s recorded broadcast, Robredo quickly realized that spraying pesticides would not help fight the pandemic. Instead, he gave four pieces of advice that were among the measures he had been suggesting to the government.

The word war between the two leaders has also spread to their spokesmen, and presidential spokesman Harry Roque urged Robredo to share any solutions he might have.

Roque’s counterpart, attorney Barry Gutiérrez, applauded, urging administration officials to read Robredo’s recommendations so they don’t look stupid.

These exchanges between the administration and the opposition are the last during the pandemic.

Critics have been accusing the government of prioritizing other things, such as the Anti-Terrorism Law, the closure of ABS-CBN, forging closer ties with China, and the rehabilitation of Manila Bay, on more pressing issues such as massive COVID-testing. 19, contact tracing and securing jobs for unemployed Filipinos.

Recently, Robredo also mentioned that the government seemed to have no leader, that it did not seem to be in control of the situation.

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The Lancet COVID-19 Commission Table

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