The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) on Wednesday expressed fears the Philippines would not be able to cope with a surge in the Delta Covid-19 variant similar to the scale now faced by Indonesia, which has taken over India as Asia’s new epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Kulang na kulang talaga po kasi marami nang mga health workers na umalis, marami nang nag-early retirement dahil natatakot mahawaan yung kanilang pamilya ng virus… [There is a shortage of health workers because some of them already left, opted to retire early for fear of getting their family infected],” AHW National President Robert Mendoza said in an interview with CNN Philippines, adding that there is also lack of ventilators, ICU beds especially in private hospitals.
He also expressed doubts the healthcare system in rural areas would be able to handle a Delta variant as well.
Asked for their reaction, the Department of Health (DOH) said they understand the fear and anxiety of the Filipinos regarding the Delta variant.
“Rest assured that the government is doing its best to prepare our healthcare system for a possible surge, regardless of community quarantine classification,” the DOH said in a statement.
Both the national and local governments, the DOH stressed, should work hand in hand to increase our health system capacity to be able to manage cases.
“We can do this by ensuring there is enough Covid-19, ICU, and TTMF (Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facility) bed capacity in areas experiencing a surge, there are enough supplies of Covid-19 medicines and oxygen tanks, and HRH (Human Resource for Health) augmentation and continuous implementation of work arrangements for health care workers,” the DOH said.
It added that they are also working double time to ramp up the national vaccination program to vaccinate more people to reduce hospitalization and deaths that will help decongest our hospitals.
“We remind everyone that while the government is augmenting our healthcare capacity, we should continue practicing the minimum public health standards and get vaccinated when it is our turn. These two are our best defense against any variant,” the DOH emphasized.