By Helen Castaño | 12:13 PM September 11, 2022
Bohol 3rd district Rep. Alexie Besas-Tutor said that two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, people need policies that are practical and easy- to-follow.
“Kailangan ng mamamayan sa panahong ito at sa mga darating pang buwan ang mga polisiyang praktikal at madaling sundin,” said Tutor in a statement.
Although she inclined to believe that Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia have been largely on the right Covid public health policy track, she praised the IATF for its new face mask policy against Covid-19.
“Sinusuportahan ko ang Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ATF) sa kanilang pinakahuling rekomendasyon na nakabatay sa siyensiya at praktikal na buhay ng ating mga kababayan,” said Tutor.
Malacañang announced that IATF has recommended the lifting of the mandatory wearing of face masks in outdoor areas.
She said lessons learned in 2020 and 2021 must be put into practice now.
She said the IATF must also respect the power and ability of each local government (LGUs) to protect the health of its constituents.
“Kailangan ding irespeto ng Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) ang poder at kakayahan ng bawat na lokal na pamahalaan (LGUs) na pangalagaan ang kalusugan ng kanilang nasasakupan,” she said.
She said the definition of fully vaccinated must be changed soon to include at least one booster shot.
Tutor said it is time to demand definitive action from our FDA on full approval of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines against COVID and to hear any updates on our government purchasing or reserving orders for the new booster vaccines against Omicron variants.
“Again, DOH and IATF seem to be slow. When will get the new boosters? The US is already rolling out the boosters against the old and new variants of COVID. Will the Philippines be late again? The burden of proof is on DOH and IATF. They must show that the failures of 2020 and 2021 will not repeat now or ever again,” Tutor said.