By Camille Diola

Good morning.

Today's briefing revisits the country's target to inoculate 70 million people by yearend and asks whether the promise is still realistic. We're also looking at a community pantry attempt nobody asked for.

Immunity pantry

A little more than 284,000 individuals are fully vaccinated in the Philippines and while that figure may seem considerable, they could all gather as a herd with immunity at Rizal Park and there would still be enough space for everyone to do cartwheels.

They comprise 0.26% of the population, a far cry from the government's targeted 70% of 70 million by December.

Giphy

What they're saying: Yet vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. at a virtual summit with business groups was still able to declare: "We are very confident that the country will be able to achieve herd containment within this year with the help of the private sector, with the inoculation of 50 to 70 million Filipinos."

What they're not saying: That is doubtful at best unless the country figures out how to ramp up vaccinations from the current 30,000 to 575,000 every single day and vaccines are constantly supplied.

What's next: Independent researchers find that there's no need to get 70 million people inoculated. If the distribution is strategic and targeted, a fully vaccinated population of 35 million should be enough to reach herd immunity. Will government listen?
 

Heard immunity

Will two lawmakers with no medical background get away with the very public distribution of Ivermectin without a go-ahead by drug regulators for COVID-19?

The STAR/Boy Santos

What happened: Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta (Sagip party-list) and Rep. Michael Defensor (Anakalusugan party-list) led an Ivermectin giveaway event late last week.

There, supposed medical practitioners scrawled away on pieces of paper to recommend Ivermectin to mostly low-income individuals without their names, signatures and PRC license numbers. Those who received the drugs were also asked to sign waivers.

It was alarming to pharmacists and doctors associations.

• "It is clear that they used violative prescriptions... The patients would have no one to hold responsible if something adverse happens to them." — Philippine Pharmacists Association
   
• "[Ivermectin] may not be prescribed by any physician outside the designated authorized hospitals. Its prescription as a prophylactic medicine against COVID-19 is strongly not advised." — Philippine Medical Association

What's next: Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the FDA should look into the token prescriptions at Defensor's and Marcoleta's "ivermectin pantry." Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that what they did was "on its face" a violation, but he leaves it to enforcers to arrest them.