Mga expert kasama! Comprehensive pandemic recovery plan under Lacson leadership takes shape

Filipinos may expect the rise of factories producing medicines against all types coronaviruses in the country if Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson gets his mandate to serve as president for the next six years.

Partido Reporma public health spokesperson and senatorial candidate Dr. Minguita Padilla revealed this information, Saturday (October 23, 2021), during the second “Online Kumustahan” held by the party with residents from the second district of Antipolo City, Rizal.

According to Dr. Padilla, the development of antiviral pills such as ‘molnupiravir’ prompted the public health policy team of Lacson to entertain the possibility of making such medications readily available for Filipinos at lower prices by establishing our own manufacturing facilities.

Merck Sharpe & Dohme, the biopharmaceutical company behind the potentially game-changing drug, has conducted successful clinical trials to treat highly transmissible COVID-19 variants, which reportedly reduced the risk of hospitalizations for patients by 50 percent.

“Gagawa na ng molnupiravir, tabletas po ito. So, kung magkaroon ka ng covid, maiinom mo na [‘yung gamot]. Parang antiviral siya, parang antibiotic na siya, parang cold medicine na lang para hindi na grumabe ang sakit. (Molnupiravir is already in production. These are tablets, so when you get infected with COVID-19, you can take the medicine orally. It’s antiviral, it works like antibiotics or cold medicine, to prevent the disease from getting worse),” Dr. Padilla said.

“At ang magandang balita pa nito, sisiguraduhin ni President Lacson ito, magiging mura kasi gagawin na dito sa mga factory sa Pilipinas. ‘Yon ang kailangan nating palakasin. (And the good news is that President Lacson will make sure we can buy this at lower prices because we will manufacture it in Philippine-based factories. That is what we need to boost),” she added.

Dr. Padilla is one of the medical experts working with Lacson in designing his public health agenda congruent with his economic recovery plan to help our nation get out of mandatory lockdowns as soon as possible.

Both candidates support the acceleration of COVID-19 vaccinations in the Philippines, especially in areas outside of Metro Manila, so that more industries and businesses can reopen for our economy to bounce back and regain its pre-pandemic vibrancy.

“Kung mas marami ang nabakunahan, mas makakabukas ang ekonomiya, at kahit magka-covid man tayo parang sipon na lang. ‘Yung tigre naging kuting dahil sa bakuna kaya importanteng-importante ang bakuna. (If more people get vaccinated, more economies will open, that even if we catch COVID-19, it will feel just like seasonal colds. The tiger will transform into a cat because of the vaccine, so it’s really important),” Dr. Padilla said.

Dr. Padilla also reiterated her call to test more patients frequently through the more practical antigen-detection. They plan to make this kind of testing procedure totally free, if not, at lower prices, so that more Filipinos would be encouraged to get themselves tested for COVID-19.

Lacson is actually the first presidential candidate to receive a copy of the “Health Agenda 2022 and Beyond,” a comprehensive guide for future policymakers that will help address the most urgent concerns of our healthcare workers in the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was delivered to him during the first week of October at the request of his policy team. Lacson has been referring to the proposals included in the said agenda for some ideas that would help improve the ongoing pandemic response of the government.

Former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Dr. Esperanza Cabral, former DOH Undersecretary and Food and Drugs Administration director-general Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go, and Dr. Padilla herself prepared and signed the health agenda.

The philosophy of the group is that public health should go beyond politics, and no matter who wins, it is their hope that the next president will have sound health policies. They plan to make their proposal available to other interested presidential candidates as well.

Lacson, meanwhile, assured Dr. Padilla and her group that he would study their proposals and incorporate them into his immediate peri- and post-pandemic social and economic programs, as well as his long-term plans to improve the Philippine healthcare system beyond 2028.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)