Health and Lifestyle
DOH, FDA give green light for CoronaVac vax of senior citizens
April 7, 2021, 7:22 pm
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday allowed the use of CoronaVac-manufactured Sinovac for senior citizens, stressing vaccination may be done only after stringent evaluation of the person’s health status and exposure risk. “After… Read More
PH Covid-19 recoveries rise by 163
April 7, 2021, 5:25 pm
MANILA – At least 163 more patients have recovered from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), pushing the country's overall recoveries to 646,404 as of Wednesday. In its latest case bulletin, the Department of Health (DOH) said those who have beaten the illness account for 78.9 percent of the… Read More
Promotion, distribution of Ivermectin violation of law: DOH
April 7, 2021, 4:15 pm
MANILA – The distribution and promotion of anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin as treatment for coronavirus in humans is a violation of the law, a health official warned Wednesday. At an online briefing, Department of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the drug is not registered for… Read More
Covid-19 saliva test eyed to expand testing capacity
April 7, 2021, 4:04 pm
MANILA – The saliva-based Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test for Covid-19 is seen to expand the country’s testing capacity, a health official said Wednesday. In an online media forum, Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the test that… Read More
DOH resolves case collection glitches
April 6, 2021, 8:13 pm
MANILA – A technical issue with the case collection systems resulted in lower reporting of deaths from Covid-19 counts over the past week, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday. In a statement, the DOH said the glitch caused incomplete fatality numbers and data encoded. As a result, 341… Read More
DOH issues guidelines on saliva-based RT-PCR testing
April 6, 2021, 7:28 pm
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday said only licensed coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) laboratories certified by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) are allowed to perform saliva-based Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing, following… Read More
DOH leads ceremonial turnover of QI modular hospital
April 6, 2021, 7:22 pm
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH), with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), on Tuesday, led the turnover of the 110-bed capacity off-site modular hospital extension of the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC) at the Quezon Institute (QI) to augment coronavirus… Read More
Medical cold chain firm to deliver more vaccines to PH hospitals
April 6, 2021, 6:00 pm
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) partnered with Pharmaserv Express, the country’s only medical cold chain company, to distribute the coronavirus vaccines to as far as the Visayas and Mindanao regions. In a statement, Pharmaserv Express said it was responsible for the delivery and… Read More
PH Covid-19 recovered cases now 646,381
April 6, 2021, 5:21 pm
MANILA – The overall tally of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) recoveries nationwide climbed to 646,381 with 313 new recovered cases reported on Tuesday. The latest data from the Department of Health (DOH) show that the figure is equivalent to a 79.5 percent recovery rate among those who… Read More
Panel recommends 2-week wait for Covid patients to get jab
April 6, 2021, 3:56 pm
MANILA – The country's vaccine expert panel is recommending to the Department of Health (DOH) a two-week waiting period before people who contracted the coronavirus can get inoculated. Dr. Rontgene Solante, a member of the vaccine expert panel, said in an online media forum Tuesday that people… Read More
Covid-19 cases surge attributed to ‘multiple factors’: WHO
April 5, 2021, 10:11 pm
MANILA – Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to the Philippines, on Monday said the surge of Covid-19 cases in a country is attributed to “multiple factors” and not dependent on the government’s pandemic response. In a virtual Palace press briefing,… Read More
‘Lianhua Qingwen’ registered but not as Covid medication
April 5, 2021, 10:03 pm
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday clarified that Lianhua Qingwen is registered but not as a medication against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). In a joint statement, the DOH and the FDA said the traditional Chinese drug Lianhua… Read More
DOH reiterates full support for Duque
April 5, 2021, 8:32 pm
MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) staff on Monday reiterated their full support for Secretary Francisco Duque III in handling the Covid-19 pandemic amid repeated calls for his resignation. Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire noted that Duque, as chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force for… Read More
Death of 2 HCWs in Region 2 due to Covid-19, not vax
April 5, 2021, 3:08 pm
MANILA – The death of two healthcare workers (HCWs), one was a retired doctor and the other a midwife, in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela was due to the coronavirus disease and not the vaccine, a health official said Monday. In an online media forum, Department of Health… Read More
Transmission hasn’t slowed down, drop in cases 'artificial': DOH
April 5, 2021, 2:18 pm
MANILA – The coronavirus spread has not slowed down yet, a health official said Monday, noting that a significant number of laboratories were off during the Holy Week break and individuals did not have themselves tested. “There are different number of labs that did not operate in the past… Read More
PH logs over 40K new Covid-19 recoveries
April 4, 2021, 4:58 pm
MANILA – With 41,205 new recovered cases reported on Sunday, the country's overall tally of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) recoveries climbed to 646,100. Latest data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed the figure is equivalent to an 81.3-percent recovery rate among those who… Read More
PH Covid-19 death rate among world’s lowest
April 4, 2021, 4:52 pm
MANILA – The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the Philippines continues to rise but death or fatality rate is only 1.8 percent, which is less than the global average. Out of the top 30 countries with the highest number of cases, our number of deaths of 13,000 is one of the lowest – second… Read More
PH Covid-19 recovery tally nears 604K with 205 new survivors
April 1, 2021, 5:06 pm
MANILA – At least 205 more patients have recovered from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), pushing the country's overall tally of recovered cases to 603,948 as of Thursday. In its 4 p.m. case bulletin, the Department of Health (DOH) said those who have beaten the illness account for 79.9… Read More
Reported Covid-19 cases seen to rise with antigen test: DOH
March 31, 2021, 8:47 pm
MANILA – The inclusion of rapid antigen test results on the official list of positive Covid-19 cases would lead to higher number of new confirmed infections, a health official said Wednesday. “Isasama natin ito sa ating (We’ll include these [results] on our) official list of positive cases… Read More
Fight vs. Covid-19 pandemic not over: health exec
March 31, 2021, 3:46 pm
MANILA – The country's fight against the coronavirus pandemic is not over, a health official said Wednesday, amid reports that hospitals are “overwhelmed and overrun” with Covid patients following a rise in infections. “'Wag naman po natin sabihing natalo na tayo. Paano naman po iyong mga… Read More
